Jacks Family
by Masked Revenge
Summary: A bunch of different one-shots of Jack and the Guardians. Mostly Jack-centric. Better than it sounds. Hurt!Jack and a bunch of fluff
1. Nickname

What is Jack even short for? Sure the given name would be Jacob or even Jacqueline but there were so many other possible names. James, John, Jackson, Johnny, Jake, Jay. The list could go on, and the Guardians were curious. The thought had originally started when Tooth and Sandy were having a silent conversation about their full names and their pasts before becoming Guardians, when it occurred to the two that they didn't know Jack's full name. Of course it didn't really matter, but it was a question that was eating at the Guardians. They had asked North and Bunny if they knew the answer, but to no avail. Then that lead to the four of them walking up to Jack's designated room in North's workshop. North knocked on the door to give Jack a heads up, but he got no answer. North quickly opened the door, fearing that the boy had snuck out. Again.

But he hadn't, he was in the middle of sneaking out. "Oh. Hehe, he guys. What's up?" Jack asked, giving a nervous chuckle. "Jack, what are you doing?" Tooth asked, fluttering forward towards Jack and his slightly open window. "Ii was just, ah, ya know. Heading out for some fresh air." Jack answered. "Jack, you know you do not have to sneak out. This is not prison, you can leave whenever you like." North replied. "Yeah, I-I know" Jack responded, placing his staff to the side of him. "So...why are you all here?" Jack asked, trying to divert the subject off of him. Sandy eagerly raised his hand and started making sand symbols that net by a little too quickly for Jack to decipher. "Um, thanks Sandy." Jack smiled, looking up at the remaining three for a more simple answer.

"What's your name?" Bunny blurted out. "What? What's my-my name?" Jack asked, no quite sure if he had heard the rabbit correctly. "Yes, tell us your name!" North repeated. "Jack Frost?" Jack answered, obviously confused. Why would the Guardians be asking what his name was? "No, Sweet Tooth. We mean your full name." Tooth slightly giggled. "Jack Frost" Jack answered again, a small smirk creeping onto his lips. "Your full, real name." Bunny said, getting slightly annoyed. The confused look on Jack's face encouraged Bunny to continue. "What's Jack short for?" Bunny added. "Oh, why didn't you must ask that in the first place?" Jack asked. "Just answer the question" Bunny sighed. "Jackson" Jack said, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets.

"Your name is Jackson Frost?" North asked. "Not my original name. My first name was actually Jackson Overland, but when I became a spirit it changed to Jack Frost." Jack explained, his smile faltering a bit. Sandy made a couple quick images consisting of a sand version of Jack alone, then the moon and another Jack with the Guardians. "Um, I-I don't remember" Jack answered quietly. It was just his luck that a simple conversation about names would turn into an interrogation about how he became a spirit. "You don't remember becoming a spirit?" Tooth asked with a sad but almost concerned look. Her face brightened as she thought of an idea." I can go to my palace and get you your memories, then you can watch them!" Tooth said, smiling.

Jack's eyes widened as he rushed to block Tooth's path. "No, no, no. You don't have to do that. Please don't" Jack begged. "Don't you want to remember?" Tooth asked, a little bit of hurt leaking into her voice. "I remember when I became a spirit. I was outside walking through the backwoods of my childhood home when I heard a little boy crying. He told me that his cousin had died of Leukemia and that he would never see her again. I asked him to tell me his favorite memories of her, and afterwards is when I became a spirit, and later a Guardian." Tooth said, smiling at the memory she had shared. Jack lowered his hands in amazement. He knew that the Man in the Moon was picky when choosing spirits, especially Guardians. So to hear Tooth's story was a rare treat. "Wow. Really?" Jack asked. "Yeah. I do miss it though. My home and my parents and grandmother. But now I have another family. This family doesn't replace my old one, it just adds to it." Tooth smiled.

Sandy lifted himself up so that everyone could see him and he quickly made a scene with himself and a sleeping child next to him. Music notes floated above the two and the scene ended. "You can sing?" jack asked. Sandy nodded his head, but then shrugged. "Oh, well. I bet when you could still talk, you were a great singer" Jack smiled. "I remember my home and how my family had been so scared when they found out there was a war going on. I remember talking to them and telling them to never give up hope." Bunny quickly explained. "A war?" Jack asked, concern filling his eyes. Bunny chuckled. Jack looked like a little kid eager to listen to a scary fairy tale. Jack dropped his guard all the way and took a few steps forward. Maybe telling their stories to him would help him warm up to them. "Yeah, lets just say my kind wasn't the most popular." Bunny said, giving a half smile.

"My memories are of when my wife was sick, and I would tell her stories of how we would travel the world and see new things. Meet new people and taste new foods. The wonder and curiosity in her eyes is what filled my hear with joy" North smiled fondly. Then his smile disappeared. "You really do not remember?" He asked again. Jack looked at his bare feet. Of course he didn't remember, he had died. But he had watched his memories, he knew what happened. Maybe he should tell them, it definitely beat getting caught in his lie about not remembering. But what he didn't want was a pity party. he didn't want the Guardians to treat him any different because he was the only one out of the five of them that had died. Jack let out a sigh as he made his decision. "No. That was a lie. I know how I became a spirit, but I don't know if I should tell you" Jack said honestly.

"You can tell us anything, Jack. We'll always be here for you. But if you really don't want to tell us, we won't push it" Tooth encouraged, giving a side glance to the other three. "Yeah, even if ya can be an annoying little frostbite." Bunny added. Jack smiled and took a breath in. "When I was still human, I had a little sister and I took her out of a frozen lake to skate. I was so stupid not to check to see if the ice was thick enough and she fell and her skate cracked the ice." Jack stared, furrowing his brows. "I know she would never get out safely if she was panicking, so I distracted her with a game of hopscotch so I could help her out. But when I did, I used my own momentum to throw her out of harm's way, but I ended up throwing myself back in her place. When I stood up to see if she was alright, the ice broke and-and I fell in." Jack stopped. He knew this was a bad idea.

He knew they were going to judge him for dying. For being different, an outcast. But that's not what happened. What happened was a skinny pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck and held him close. Not seconds later another pair of furry arms was added. Big, heavy arms then little, short golden arms. The Guardians hadn't known how Jack became a spirit, but now they did. And they would never forget it Jack had died for his sister and had somehow let her have fun along with it. The Guardians would never understand how jack did half of the things he did, but they wouldn't change it for the world.


	2. Asleep

The Guardians would never understand Jack. He was their newest and youngest member. Even though they tried to understand, somethings Jack would just outright refuse to share. They figured it was just because he was new, and all of the things that had happened could be a bit overwhelming. But later on, the Guardians came to realize that that was only half the problem. Jack was an introvert. He had been alone for over 300 years, which can damage a person beyond repair. But the Guardians were determined to make sure Jack wasn't ever alone again.

While searching for their youngest member, Bunny came across a sight that made him smile. Jack Frost was laying down on a window sill, fast asleep. He was laying on his stomach with one arm high above his head, and the other falling to the ground over the edge. One of his legs was straight out while the other was bent over the first one. Bunny slightly shook his head in amazement. He couldn't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable a window sill was. But this was Jack Frost he was talking about. It had been proven multiple times over that Jack could sleep anywhere.

Bunny rolled his eyes before deciding that Jack would be more comfortable in a bed. Bunny walked forward and softly shook Jack. No response. Bunny huffed in annoyance. He wasn't gonna wake up the spirit if he didn't have to. Which means he would have to carry him. He gently lifted the boys shoulder to turn him over. Jack still hadn't woken up. Being careful not to hurt, or wake him up, Bunny quickly slipped one arm under Jacks back and the other under his legs. Hefting the winter child into his arms, Bunny blinked as he observed the thin layer of frost right where Jack had been laying. Not giving it another thought, Bunny swiftly made his way to Jacks personal room in Norths workshop. On the way there, Bunny internally reminded himself to make sure Jack ate more. The kid was like 50 pounds! Jacks head slowly rotated around and landed on Bunny's furry chest. That was when Bunny suddenly realized how young Jack really was.

Sure, he and the rest of the Guardians were over 500 years old, but Jack was as young as 300 years. Not only that, but whatever age you are as a spirit is the age you were when you became one. The Guardians didn't know how old Jacks mental age was, but if Bunny had to take a guess, Jack would still be in his mid-teens. Jack was a little over 300 years old physically but mentally he had to be at least sixteen or seventeen. Bunny reminded himself to bring it up later when the kid was awake. Finally getting to the room, Bunny expertly slid his arms out from under the limp body and pulled the covers up halfway. Going against his better judgement, he also made his way across the room and opened the window. No wanting to be in the cold any longer, Bunny hastily retreated out to the door. Looking back he saw the relaxed face and peaceful rise and fall of Jack's chest. Bunny smiled, knowing that Jack would be alright. They may be crazy and weird, but they were family. And they were going to do everything in their power to let Jack know that.


	3. Scars

"I am so sorry, Jack!" North boomed as he quickly bent down to pick up the fallen cup of eggnog. He hadn't seen where he was going and had run right into the winter child. Spilling his drink all over Jack's hoodie. "It's fine, North" Jack replied, wiping his hands on his hoodie to get the excess eggnog off. "Let me get you towel." North said as he headed back into the kitchen. Jack softly chuckled as the spirit of Christmas ran frantically to get a towel. Seconds after North disappeared, the remaining three entered.

"Hey Jack! What's wrong?" Tooth asked as soon as she noticed the sad smile on Jacks face. "Oh, nothing. North just spilled some eggnog on me" Jack answered. "Oh, I can get you a fresh shirt to change into!" Tooth realized as she zoomed out before Jack could say anything. Bunny and Sandy silently chuckled at the confused and slightly shocked look on Jacks face. Tooth and North came back into the room together. North Carrying towels and Tooth carrying a neon blue and green T shirt. "Here you go, Jack" Tooth said, shoving the shirt into Jacks arms. "And here is towel. I am so sorry." North repeated again. "North, don't sweat it. It's just eggnog" Jack smiled.

An awkward silence followed as Jack stood with the two materials in his hands. "Go on." Bunny said. "What?" Jack asked. "Do ya need help?!" Bunny joked. "No. I just don't want to change in front of you guys." Jack mumbled. "Don't worry. We're all guys here. Well, most of us." Bunny smiled. "What? No! That's not-" North's booming laugh startled Jack, "Jack. No need to be modest. We are family" North said as he stepped forward to take the shirt out of Jacks hold. "There's some need" Jack said under his breath. Unfortunately, Bunny's powerful hearing had caught what Jack said. "What'a hidin?" Bunny asked. "What? I'm not hiding anything." Jack answered. He took the shirt out of Norths arms and grabbed the towel and started to head out to the door.

"Oh no ya don't" Bunny said as he grabbed Jack's arm. Jack dropped the towel and shirt as he was pulled back. "Bunny let go!" Jack ordered. "Not till you tell us what yer hidin" Bunny said. The remaining three watched as Bunny grabbed Jacks hoodie sleeve and pulled even harder. A ripping sound filled the air and Jack was now begging Bunny to let go. "Bunny! Please, let go!" Jack yelled. "No!" Bunny said as he gave one last tug.

The sleeve ripped off the shoulder and Jacks upper right chest was exposed. Everyone froze in their place. Jack sucked in a big breath and ice started to crawl on the floor. It surrounded Jack as it started to climb up the walls. The Guardians couldn't seem to focus on the ice due to the lines marking their youngest member. A red hand print made itself clear on the bend of his shoulder, surrounding it was red crosses and X's. "Jack, who did this to you?" North asked. Jack said nothing as more ice started crawling towards the Guardians feet. Tooth and Sandy both lifted themselves up to avoid the ice reaching their feet, while Bunny and North took a slow step back. "Jack" Tooth cooed. "Jack, please. Talk to us" Tooth pleaded.

More ice started to bleed over the floor. Creeping up onto any furniture in the room. Jack lifted his left hand up and used his ice to cover his exposed shoulder. "It's nothing." Jack answered as he leaned down and picked up the discarded shirt as he walked out of the room, leaving the Guardians trapped in a cold ring of ice. The big four looked at each other, silently agreeing that Jack couldn't be left alone. Tooth and Sandy exited the room with ease, floating over the icy floor. But Bunny and North had a little more trouble. It took nearly five minutes for the two to get out of the room, leaving with new bruises on their knees, elbows, backs and bottoms. When they regrouped with Sandy and Tooth they started their search for the young Guardian. Sandy ended up finding him and sent three small waves of golden sand to tell the others.

The other three made it into the room that the sand was leading to and they stopped. Jack was now sitting on a window sill wearing Tooth's neon shirt and holding his blue hoodie. He didn't seem to notice the Guardians enter the room. Bunny stepped forwards, not knowing what he was going to say. "Can we just forget about it" Jack asked, his gaze not leaving the snowy environment outside. Bunny spoke for the group before anyone else could. "No, Jack. We can never forget about it." Bunny started. "But we don't have to talk about it right now." Jack didn't say anything for a few more seconds before slowly turning his head to face the Guardians.

"It wasn't your fault." Jack stated. This took the Big Four by surprise. Of course it wasn't their fault, but that didn't change the fact that each and every one of them blamed themselves. They hadn't been there to protect Jack when he needed it. Of course it was their fault. "Let's go to Globe room and have some food." North suggested, ignoring Tooth's silent protests. Jack gave a ghost of a smile and hoped off the window sill. As he walked, there were traces of ice following his footsteps, but the Guardians chose to over look it. At least they got Jack smiling again. Sort of. As long as he kept on smiling, everything would be alright.


	4. Age

North gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. Didn't they know what quiet was? "Where is that bloody snowflake?!" Bunny's voice echoed through the workshop. North decided he wouldn't get any work done with all of the noise so he hesitantly put his tools down and opened the door. "North! Where's Jack?" Bunny asked, running up to the Guardian. "I don't know. What did he do this time?" North asked. "He froze all my paints solid and stuck all my brushes together!" Bunny replied, looking around himself again. North gave a slight chuckle. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but the prank was pretty harmless. Bunny was getting a little overworked about this one.

"Bunny, the prank. Is a harmless one, no?" North asked, trying to calm the Easter Bunny. "Of course you take his side!" Bunny yelled. "You're always defending the little prick and you never take my side!" Bunny argued. "To be fair. Jack is child" North smiled. "No he isn't. He's a full grown man with a terrible sense of humor and the mind of a two year old" Bunny answered. "Bunny, he is only teenager. 17 at least" North answered, nodding his head. "I don't care how old he is, he's not getting away with freezing my work" Bunny said as he started to walk off again. As Bunny started to walk off, North put his hand to his beard and looked up to the ceiling.

Smiling and chuckling slightly, North looked back down to the over sized Rabbit leaving the room. "Bunny, how do you plan to find Jack?" North asked. "I don't know. I'll find his sent or something" Bunny said before pausing to smell the air. His nose twitched as he lifted his head up. Bunny's eyes drifted from the walls to the floor back up to the large Guardian and up to the ceiling. "Ya bloody frostbite, get down here" Bunny scolded as he hopped back into the room. "Dang it, North. Did you have to tell him?!" Jack said as he floated down to the ground. "I did not tell him anything. He figured it out by himself" North defended.

"For your information, I didn't freeze your brushes together, I froze your paints and the brushes were just really close to them." Jack said. "You still froze my paints" Bunny argued. "And also, I'm not 17" Jack said, facing North. "Oh, how old are you?" North asked. "I'm supposed to be 14, but I guess you could sa-" "Hold on. Back up." Bunny interrupted, "You're 14? I thought you were like 16 or something" Bunny admitted. "Nope. I was born in 1690 and I became a spirit in 1704, so if you do some simple math, I'm 14. Well, 300 technically" Jack explained.

"I did not know young Guardian was so young" North whispered to himself. Jack snickered. "Yeah, well there's a lot you guys don't know about me. Guess you'll just have to figure it out" Jack said as he lifted himself up and rushed out of the room. Bunny and North both gave each other a puzzled look before glancing down at their feet. Both of the Guardian's feet were frozen together. "That bloody show pony" Bunny muttered.


	5. Languages

"Okay, okay. English, Spanish and French are obviously out because we all know them" Tooth spoke.

"But then that means we all tie" Bunny added.  
"Bunny is right. That leaves us with only three each" North said.

"What's going on?" Jack said as he flew in.  
"Competition" Bunny answered quickly.  
"What kind of competition?" Jack asked, smiling.  
"We're having a contest to see who knows the most languages." Tooth answered, "But we all know only six languages."

"Well, what languages do you guys know?" Jack asked, curious about where this was going.  
"I know German, Hebrew and Japanese" Tooth smiled, "And Sandy knows Mandarin, Turkish and obviously American Sign Language. We're canceling out English, Spanish and French because we all know those three" Tooth explained.  
"I know Russian, Polish and Thai" North boomed

Jack stopped to think for a bit before grinning and lifting his staff onto his shoulder, "Then I guess that means I win" "What? Not possible" Bunny argued, "I know Romanian, Italian and Korean. Beat that frostbite" Bunny bragged.

Taking this as a challenge, Jack lifted himself up off the ground and floated over to Bunny before smirking, "Gladly." Jack said before he started listing off languages.  
"English, Spanish, French. But you guys said you weren't counting those-" Jack started before Bunny interrupted.  
"Which means we all win" Bunny said, gesturing to himself and the other three.

Jack shook his head in a mocking tone "Oh, Bunny. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that you're never actually around kids?" Jack asked.  
"Jack, what do you mean. We are always around kids." North spoke.  
"Yeah, I see kids every night" Tooth added.

"Maybe. But not during the day. Think about it. North, you and Sandy only see kids during the night. Bunny is the only other one of you that sees kids during the day and he spends the entire time hiding from them" Jack said, smiling. "I'm the only one that sees kids during the day _and_ plays with them. I know the most languages out of all of you because I have to" Jack said, smugly.

"Oh yeah?" Bunny spoke, stepping closer to the winter spirit.  
"Yeah" Jack answered.  
"Prove it"

"German, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Hebrew, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Portuguese, Danish, Hungarian, Norwegian, Icelandic _and_ American Sign Language" Jack smiled.

North, Tooth and Bunny were quiet while Sandy was silently applauding the youngest guardian.

North was the first to recover, "Jack, how do you know so many?"  
"Just like I said, I get around a lot" Jack answered before walking out.

The Guardians had to admit, there was a lot they didn't know about their newest member. But now they were more determined than ever to figure out how he worked.


	6. Asexual

The five Guardians were currently sitting in North's big lounge room with couches and a coffee table. Bunny and Sandy were occupying the two comfy chairs closest to the fire, North and Jack were both sitting on the couch while Tooth was sitting on the ground, leaning her back against the table. They were engrossed in a lively conversation about love. The conversation had actually been started by North sharing his wife's favorite toy with the group.  
They had learned a lot about each other in the one hour they had spent learning about each other's love lives. Jack had yet to share.

North had shared stories about his wife and how they met when they were young and vowed to live and grow old together, which they had. It was the ultimate love story.  
Sandy had somehow signed his entire story about meeting a girl and planning to marry her before he became a spirit. He let them know that she had said yes.  
Tooth said she hadn't married anyone before becoming a spirit, but she had met a nice guy who she wouldn't mind spending eternity with. Surprisingly, it wasn't Jack.  
Bunny explained that he had a very good friend who happened to be a girl. He said they had been playing around with the idea of being together, but never got around to it.  
Jack was an entirely different story.

After Bunny finished his story, the room went silent before Jack found four pairs of eyes glued to him. "What?" Jack asked.  
"What's your story? Who's your special someone?" Tooth asked, cheerfully. Jack looked down at his hands to think. Who _was_ his special someone? If he was truly honest with himself. No one. He had the Guardians as great friends, just like Bunny, but he would never feel attracted to any of them. He knew that much.  
He had always known that he wasn't like everyone else. While spirits left and right were finding true love, Jack was stuck with the concept of being sick. He felt fine, maybe the sickness was all in his head.

Jack had been around the world more than a few times. He had seen so many people, surly he would've been attracted to one of them? At one point he had even tried to force himself to have romantic thoughts about random girls that he saw. When that didn't work, he tried guys. Still nothing.  
It just felt weird to think about being with a guy or a girl. Why was he like this?  
He couldn't figure it out.

"Earth to Jack! Hello!?" A voice yelled, bringing him out of his trance. "What was that? Ya spaced out there" Bunny commented. "Is there problem?" North asked, concerned flashed on his face for a second. "No, no. Nothing's wrong. Just thinking." Jack answered truthfully. "You? Thinking? Never thought I'd see the day" Bunny teased.  
"Shut up" Jack smiled.  
"Continue with your story, Jack." Tooth encouraged. "I doubt young boy has wife." North said skeptically. Jack actually laughed out loud at that. "Oh no! I don't!" Jack reassured, then paused, "But in the time period I lived in, people actually did get married at fourteen." Jack informed. North and Bunny seemed to think about this while Sandy nodded and lifted his eyebrow in agreement.

"Okay, okay. Enough of that" Tooth said, waving her hands to swat away at invisible flies, "Start your story already, I'm curious."  
This quieted everyone in the room and Jack found himself under the spotlight once again.  
"Um. I-I can't really think of anyone right now" Jack confessed. "Oh, c'mon! You must have some special someone in your life." Bunny urged. "Doesn't even have to be girl" North smiled. Jack blushed slightly at North's comment, even though he knew he didn't like guys. Sandy made a question mark on the top of his head, "No, Sandy. It's not a guy." Jack smiled. "It's not a girl either" Jack added, looking back down at his hands.

"What?" Tooth asked. "How's that work?" Bunny asked.  
"I don't really like anyone" Jack said before backtracking. "Wait, I said that wrong. I do like people. Like, I like you guys. But I don't like you like you" Jack mumbled.  
"So, there really is no special someone?" North asked. "Not that I know of" Jack clarified. This made everyone chuckle and lightened the mood. Jack didn't know what he was expecting, but normalcy was not it. Instead of making a big deal out of it or abandoning him because he was different, the Big Four continued on there conversation as if nothing had happened. It made him feel safe and more welcomed.

Maybe he _could_ make a family out of this.


	7. ADHD

How long had he been sitting here? Five hours? Nineteen hours? A day? Jack wasn't sure. But it felt like forever. This meeting was supposed to be a quick catch-up on everything going on. That's not what was happening. What was happening was North and Bunny having a long and loud argument about which holiday was better. Tooth and Sandy actually talking about what the meeting was meant for and Jack struggling with keeping still.  
He had always known that it was impossible to stay still. Whether it be sitting in a chair or standing on his lake, he always had to be moving. Even if it was just a little finger tap on his knee. It kept him sane.

That was not the case today. Today was worse. Today he couldn't seem to keep his limbs in one place. He had asked North for a soda or an energy drink of some sort, but Bunny had intervened. Saying that his wild, out-of-control personality didn't need a jump-start. Then Tooth had jumped in, talking about how bad all the sugar was for his teeth. But what they hadn't known was that the caffeinated drink would've actually calmed him down.  
It was strange, and Jack wasn't entirely sure about how it worked, but he had discovered over time that if he had enough caffeine in his body he could focus more easily and even sleep better. But since he didn't get his drink, he was holding back every muscle.  
Maybe if he got up and walked around a bit?

Drawing as little attention to himself as possible, Jack stood up out of his seat, grabbed his staff and walked towards the wall as casualy as he could.  
Finally up and out of his chair, Jack could twirl his staff in his hand while playing with the hem of his hoodie in the other hand. The loud argument in front of him started to fuzz out as Jack lost all interest. Instead, he decided to focus on the wall he was leaning on. Taking his hand off his hoodie and reaching up to touch the wall, Jack started making small frost patterns. He had heard others talking about being able to block out the world and focus on one single task, which is what he was doing now. Hyperfocus or something like that.  
Again, he didn't really know how it worked, but he didn't care.

Sometimes he wished he didn't have it.  
Hearing others talk about how hard it is to stay focused and how they wished they could hyperfocus just ticked him off. He had once spent three straight weeks trying to make the perfect snowball. Not because he was committed, but because his interest in it was strong and the outside world disappeared. He could tell the outside world was disappearing now, as he drew a swirl on the wall.  
It's not like he could choose when and where to put all his focus, it just happened. Usually when he was intrigued or worried about something was when he couldn't care about anything else.

Sometimes he completely forgot about everything else. He knew for a fact that his memory was messed up. Sometimes it was perfect and he could remember even the littlest details, and other times it was completely gone.  
At one point he had actually forgotten what he was about to say while he was saying it, stopping in the middle of his sentence to try and remember what he was talking about.  
Vaguely, Jack could tell that the argument was dying out and four pairs of eyes were now facing him.

Sandy had a question mark above his head while he gave a quizzical look. Jack stopped his ice designs and faced the golden man. He could tell Tooth's mouth was moving but he couldn't tell what she was saying.  
Finally, A big, furry paw landed on his hand and broke him out of his trance.  
"-ou sick?" Tooth's voice asked. It took Jack a second to process what she was asking, but quickly answered. "No, I'm fine."

"Ya don't look fine, Frostbite." Bunny said. Jack didn't know how to respond.  
Of course he was fine, he was just bored out of his mind at the moment. Jack turned his head back to the wall and raised his hand to start making more designs. The same furry paw stopped his hand before it reached the wall. His arm was being pulled forwards, towards Bunny's body.  
"What's going on? Are ya ignoring us?" Bunny asked, a hint of anger in his voice.  
"No" Jack answered as he started looking around for an elf. If he could just get his hands on a soda he could focus and not anger the Guardians.

"Well it sure looks like ya are" Bunny retorted.  
"But I'm not." Jack defended. "Then what are you doing?" North spoke up.  
"Trying to find an elf" Jack answered without thinking. The sudden honesty confused the Guardians. Tooth was the first to recover.  
"Why are you trying to find an elf, Jack?" She asked.  
"So I can get a soda or something." Jack answered, his hands immediately spinning his staff again.

"We already told ya not to have one. It would make you bounce off the walls in seconds." Bunny argued.  
"No it wouldn't. I need it to focus." Jack answered, pulling away from the group to walking into the kitchen and find his drink.  
"Slow down there, Frostbite. Whatda mean it'll 'help you focus'?" Bunny asked. Jack didn't turn back when he answered, "I can't focus and caffeine helps."

This sentence confused three out of the four Guardians. Sandy, on the other hand, knew exactly what Jack was talking about. He tried to get the other's attention, but to no avail. Looking around himself, Sandy took a metal glass sitting on the table and banged it against a chair. This got everyone's attention.  
Quickly, Sandy made a picture of Jack sitting on a chair. Then an X over it.  
"Jack can't sit in chair?" North asked, obviously confused. Sandy shook his head.

Next he made a picture of an eye looking side to side rapidly. Then one of a hand with twitching fingers. "Fidgeting?" Tooth asked. Sandy smiled and nodded his head. Next he showed them an image of a can of soda then and picture of Jack laying down, sleeping. It took a minute for the remaining Guardians to connect the dots, but eventually they got it.  
"Soda will help you focus, yes?" North asked, turning around to find Jack playing with the sleeves of his hoodie. "Mhm" Jack hummed, not looking up.  
"Very well then. I will be back with soda." North smiled as he walked into the kitchen.

Ever since then, the Guardians had been able to overlook the fact that Jack wasn't always paying attention. They would leave him alone when they noticed him staring at the table or his hands. They wouldn't mind it when Jack had to stand up and walk around or play with something during their meetings. And they made sure Jack had a soda with him when he told them he needed one, despite Tooth's complaints.

They knew they couldn't and wouldn't ever fully understand their newest member, but they were going to try.


	8. Enemies

When Jack had come in for the monthly meeting jittery and nervous, the Guardians knew something was off. He had his hood up, which he never did. And his staff was clutched tightly in his hands. "Hey Jack, is something wrong?" Tooth asked, flying down to talking to him. "Everything's fine, Tooth." Jack smiled. This didn't settle anyone's nerves. "Ya look like a nervous wreck" Bunny said before Tooth hit him on the arm to scold him for the rude comment. Jack gave an airy laugh, "I just had a close call, that's all." Jack answered.

"A close call with what, Jack?" North asked as Bunny made his way closer to the young spirit. Before anyone could protest, Bunny ripped the blue hood down so he could see Jack's face. What met their eyes was a dark purple bruise on Jacks cheek bone, a deep cut on his forehead and a few dirt marks on his chin. "A tree?" Jack smiled, nervously. Before anyone could say anything, a voice bellowed from behind.

"FROST!" The voice yelled, getting closer. Jack flinched as he turned around, staff in his tight grasp. Soon enough the owner of the voice appeared. A man, a little shorter than Jack with vibrant, red-orange hair. His eyes were a shade of hazel and he was wearing an orange T-shirt with red trunks and sandals. If the Guardians didn't know any better, they would say this was the spirit of summer.  
"Ya know, this just proves what I said before. You really are stubborn" Jack said, not moving from his place in front of the Guardians. "And this also proves me right. You really are a coward. I mean, you flew back to the pole when things got too heated for you" The spirit smiled as he looked back behind him. The four Guardians stayed silent as they watched two more spirits make their way through the same window the first spirit came through.

This spirit had long, chocolate brown hair to pair with her auburn eyes. She was wearing a dusty yellow jacket with a white undershirt. Ripped blue jeans accompanied her black converse, and she looked pissed.  
The next spirit to fly in had short, vibrant blonde hair barely reaching her shoulders. She had forest green eyes and was sporting a flowing purple blouse with blue jean shorts and white Keds. She too, looked pissed.

"Will, Cammie. Glad you could join the party." Jack said as he took a slow step forwards. North sensed Jack's subtle nervousness and stepped forward. "Is there a problem?" North asked in a slightly threatening tone. "No. No problem at all." The summer spirit said.  
The spirit and Jack seemingly had a staring contest at that moment, before Jack suddenly smiled and started talking. "How rude of me not to introduce you guys." He started before facing the Guardians.  
"Everyone, this is the spirit of Summer. Tony Blaze" Jack said as he pointed to the angered spirit. "This is Willow Winds the spirit of Autumn," He gestured to the brunette, "And this is Cameron Meadows, the spirit of Spring." Jack finished as he put his arm down.

"So what's wrong? You owe these guys money or somethin'?" Bunny asked, jokingly.  
Jack opened his mouth to answer, but a warm hand suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards, cutting him off.  
"Let's go with 'Or something'" Tony glared.  
"Hey, at least I didn't freeze your-OW!" Jack screeched, tugging his arm free. Tony let go and in place of his hand was a red hand print, mimicking the look of a bad sunburn on Jack's pale skin. A thin layer of ice slowly started making its way up Jack's arm and crept up to the burn.  
"Look, now you have another scar to match the one on your back" Tony smirked.

"What is he talking about, Jack?" Tooth asked, angry that this spirit had hurt her friend. "You know what he's talking about" Jack scowled.  
The four Guardians quickly went through everything that had happened in the past few months. Oh yeah. The scars. The hand print on his shoulder. Now that they all remembered what Jack's torso had looked like, they couldn't hold back their murderous glares.  
"It's not like you didn't deserve it. You ruined all of Wills hard work." Cameron spoke up. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that it's my job! I wish it wasn't, really, I do. But it is." Jack defended.

"It doesn't have to be. All winter is good for is killing and you know it." Willow snapped back.  
"Hey, watch your mouth" Bunny spoke, stepping up next to Jack. All of the sudden, vines broke through the ground and wrapped themselves around both Bunny and Jack.  
"We'll watch whatever we want" Cameron said, hands up in the air as more vines tangled themselves around the rest of the Guardians. The plants flew the four Guardians into the wall behind them and kept their feet off the floor as they held them there. The big four watched as the three intruders made they're way in front of Jack. They brought their words down to a whisper, but fortunately, Bunny had great hearing.  
"Please don't think we're doing this out of spite," Tony spoke, "We're just doing the world a favor by saving it from a dark and cold death" He finished as he brought his hands up to play with Jack's messy hair.

Unbeknownst to the other three seasonals, ice was slowly creeping up the vines that were holding Jack prisoner. the Guardians, however, did notice this and started to struggle to get free so that they might help Jack if a fight were to break out.  
"I don't even know why Manny chose you to be the fifth Guardians. You can't even save yourself, let alone the children" Cameron frowned as the vines visibly tightened around all its prisoners, stopping any progress the Guardians were making at escaping. The rooms temperature suddenly started to rise rapidly as Jacks ice slowly melted off the vines.

"Summer brings warmth and comfort. People can go out and play in the sun and splash in the pools. Winter brings cold and death. People slip on ice and hurt themselves and they have to shut themselves up inside their homes." Tony growled as he roughly grabbed a fistful of the snow white hair. Jack hissed as the head was jerked upwards.  
"The world would be much better without the suffering. The _Guardians_ would be much better without your pathetic ass to take care of" Tony finished as he brought his hands down to the vines holding Jack and looked back up, staring straight into Jack's eyes. Jack watched as a fire red color slowly bled into Tony's hazel eyes and braced himself for the pain.  
"You've been relieved of your duty" Tony said as heat seeped into the vines holding the winter spirit.

Jack's eyes squeezed shut and his teeth clenched, trying not to make a sound and give Tony the satisfaction.  
While the three spirits watched as Jack squirmed, Bunny's paw was slowly making its way up to the boomerangs on his back. If he could weaken the vines enough to be able to tear them with his hands, he could get his teammates free and get the three unwanted guests out.  
His fingers barely brushed the tip of his weapon when a scream pierced its way through the air.

Bunny's concentration was lost as he shot his gaze back up to see Tony's hands on Jack's chest. Adrenaline rushing, Bunny used all his strength to reach for his boomerangs. In the corner of his eye, he could see North doing the same thing with his swords. Not two seconds later, North was free, then Bunny. Once the two Guardians cut Tooth and Sandy free, it was chaos. Willow was the first to notice the Guardians freeing themselves, she alerted Cameron, but she was too late. Bunny crashed himself into Tony and the two started wrestling on the floor.  
Tooth and Willow took to the air and started fighting above the ground.  
North was doing his best to dodge every vine, tree branch and rock that came flying towards him.  
And Sandy busied himself with getting Jack free.  
The three individual fights went on for about five more seconds before the temperature dropped and a voice shouted.

"STOP IT!"

The sudden outburst startled everyone in the room. Eight pairs of eyes followed each other until they all landed on Jack. "Stop it. Everyone!" Jack shouted. The winter spirit made his way to the summer spirit on the floor. He knelt down and grabbed Tony by the shirt and hauled him up to his feet.  
"If I ever see you attacking my family ever again, I will personally hunt you down and make you regret the day you ever set foot in this workshop" Jack threatened. The Guardians didn't know what to think. They had never seen this side of Jack before, and if they were truly honest with themselves, it was terrifying.

"I want you to leave. You, Cameron and Willow. Get out of here and go back home. I don't ever want to see your face again" Jack finished, shoving Tony as far away as he could. "Freak" Tony whispered as he followed Willow and Cameron out.  
Jack stood strong as he watched the three leave the workshop. his eyes followed as their forms disappeared down the horizon.  
After he was sure they were gone and out of sight, Jack's knees buckled and he fell to the ground and landed in a sitting position.  
The four Guardians stepped towards the boy and Bunny sat down next to him.

"Ya alright?"  
Jack gave a silent nod, "Fine, just tired," He paused, "And hot. But mostly just tired." Jack's eyes closed and he plopped down onto his back.  
"Mind telling us what you did to make those drongos follow you like that?" Bunny asked.  
"Just my job" Jack muttered.  
"Might need a little more detail than that, sweet tooth" Tooth chuckled as she waited for a response, but she never got one.

The big four looked down to see Jacks breath had evened out and his eyes lightly shut.  
"Guess he really was tired" North smiled. Leaning down and picking up the light-weight frost child, the group made their way upstairs to the bedrooms.  
Jack didn't have a designated room, but he did always crash in the same room every time he visited. Walking into that same room, North laid Jack down on the bed and took in the small figure.

Burn marks made themselves clear on Jacks arms, chest and stomach. Thankfully, his hoodie saved him from the serious burns, but there _was_ an angry, red mark on his arm where Tony had grabbed him. North called on one of his yetis to bring an ice pack and some burn medicine to keep it from blistering.  
After the burns had been taken care of, Tooth placed a light blanket over the small frame and the four took their spots around the bed.

They would sit there until Jack woke up again, and they would ignore the fact that Jack had called them his family.  
Just for now.


	9. Skinny

He knew he was skinny, but he didn't think it was worth worrying over. Not this much, at least.

How had it even come to this?  
All he needed was a little hole in the side of his hoodie stitched, that was it. But now he was regretting ever asking.  
He had been napping in a tree when he suddenly fell out and tore a hole right where his ribs were. It was the only hoodie he had, and he had become quite fond of it.  
So he made his way to the pole where he knew North would be able to stitch it back and he'd be on his way. What he hadn't planned on was the rest of the Guardians also being there.  
When he asked North if he could stitch it, North had told him he wouldn't be able to stitch it while it was still on his person, for fear of hurting the body underneath.

He had told North that he didn't care, but North said that he could work faster and more diligently if it was on a flat surface. So, reluctantly, Jack slipped the blue jacket off his frame and held it out for North to take. A few more seconds of holding it out, Jack looked up to see what was taking so long and found that North had been staring at his stomach.

Subconsciously, he sunk in on himself to try and hide his nakedness from sight.  
North caught himself staring and quickly readjusted his gaze.

"Jack, when was the last time you ate?" North asked. The question threw Jack off. He was expecting some kind of comment about his scars, not a question about when the last time he ate. The question also peaked the interest of the remaining Guardians as Jack looked down to think. When _was_ the last time he ate? He couldn't remember. Eating had never been that high on his priority list.

Like, ever.

He must have been silently thinking a little longer than he thought because North then interrupted the silence with a nervous chuckle, "You do eat, yes?" Jack looked up and gave North a look that told the Guardian everything he needed to know. "Jackson!" The loud voice boomed. The sudden use of his full name made Jack shrink even more. It also startled the three remaining Guardians.

 _Great_

Tooth was the fist to see Jack, and she gasped as Bunny and Sandy made their way over. Now there were four pairs of eyes staring at his middle. If he didn't feel self conscious before, he sure did now. "Answer the question, Jack" Tooth said, averting her eyes to look Jack in the face."Um. I-I don't know. It's never really been a priority" Jack group was silent while they thought over the answer. Apparently it was good enough because North walked off, grabbing his sewing materials and sat down to start working on the article of clothing.

Jack folded his arms over his chest to try and hide while he waited for his hoodie to be returned. No one said anything while North worked, fortunately, he was finished quickly and promptly returned Jacks hoodie. Jack slipped it over his head and smirked as he felt the familiar feel of the soft fabric on his chest. "Now. Matter of food" North spoke. "What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Ya need ta get some food in you" Bunny explained, poking at the small stomach.  
"Um, no thanks. I'm fine." Jack mumbled.  
"This isn't really up for discussion, sweet tooth. You need to eat" Tooth said like a mother to her child.  
"But I'm not hungry" Jack argued.  
"Doesn't matter if you're hungry or not. You gotta get some meat on your bones." Bunny said as he hopped forwards towards North's over sized kitchen.

Jack rolled his eyes, ignoring Bunny's comment. "Guys, really. It's fine. I don't want to-"  
"Jack, I swear to Manny, if you say you don't want to bother us with your needs I will...um...I don't know what I'll do, but it won't be good." Tooth interrupted.  
Jack lightly chuckled as the nicest person on their team tried to make a threat.  
He knew not to take the threat literally, but he also knew that Tooth could be scary when she was determined to do something.

He followed the group to the kitchen where North was already preparing a plate with various fruits, cookies and sandwiches on it.  
"This will be enough for now, da?" North asked as he shoved the plate into Jacks hands.  
"Uh. Yeah, yeah. This is plenty" Jack said, gawking at how much food could fit on one plate.

"This is a lot. Are you sure you guys don't want any?" Jack asked, smiling as he subtly threw an elf one of the cookies.  
"We won't take any of your food." Bunny started.  
"But we could all eat together for dinner tonight!" Tooth suggested.  
"Excellent idea, Toothy!" North belted, starting to order his yetis around.

Two hours later, Jack was throwing strawberries and blueberries at Bunny while North and Sandy were laughing as Tooth tried to scold the boys for the sudden food fight.  
Jack guessed this wasn't what a normal family would do, but who ever said they were normal?


	10. Staff Part 1

"Thank you, Jack. That will be all" North smiled as he stretched out his back.  
"No problem, North" Jack called as he exited the room. He started to head towards the front door to go outside and cool off when a flash of neon green, blue and yellow flew past his sight.  
"There you are Jack! I was looking for you" Tooth said as she dropped from the sky to the floor, "If it isn't too much trouble, I need another helper"

Jack smiled as he agreed to help. Tooth often asked the Guardians to help with collecting the teeth due to her mind already being preoccupied with her mini-fairies.  
"Where to this time?" Jack asked, following the fairy into the air.  
"I need you to go to Europe. Just cover the smaller towns, my fairies can get the rest." Tooth paused, "Oh, and if you see a mouse, just leave it alone. It's part of the European division." Tooth smiled.  
"Small towns in Europe. Leave the mice alone. Got it" Jack shot off with the wind. Tooth lightly chuckled at the young spirit before heading back to her palace.

* * *

Jack had flown to Europe and was making his way back from Positano when a puff of black sand clouded his vision.  
"Lovely night tonight, isn't it? Jack?" A voice spoke. Jack's hands instinctively squeezed his staff tighter  
"What do you want this time, Pitch?" Jack yelled, looking around himself to try and spot the hidden figure.

"I just wanted to give you a gift of mine." The voice sneered.  
Jack was able to just barely dodge the stream of Nightmare sand as it whirred past his head.  
"You've made my life very complicated. And I only wish to do the same for you"

Jack flew out of the cloud and glanced back just in time to see another shot of sand heading towards him. Shooting his own blast of power behind him, Jack headed back to the North Pole, knowing they would all be there, seeing as it was almost dawn. He could feel the wind pulling him, helping him go faster. After a while, the attacking sand seemed to disappear. Jack looked behind himself to see that any trace of an attacker was gone. He slowed down a bit to catch his breath, smiling as he could now see Santoff Claussen.  
A few minutes later he started to head towards the building when his staff was suddenly knocked out of his hand. Immediately he dropped to the snow covered ground.

Looking around, he searched the snow for his missing staff.  
"Looking for this?"  
Jack's head shot around to see an all too familiar enemy holding his precious staff.  
"I must say, I was quite shocked to see such pain in your eyes when this little stick was broken. Why is that?" Pitched asked, spinning the staff in his hand, teasingly. Jack slowly stood up, silently hoping Pitch hadn't seen him send the wind into the building behind him to warn the other Guardians.  
"Tell me Jack, what will happen when I..." Pitch cut off as he slowly started to bend the wood. Jack suppressed a groan as the wood continued to bend slowly.

"Come on Jack. Let is all out. Don't you want to attack me?" Pitch smiled. Jacks legs started to hurt, wanted to give up on him and collapse. Jack wouldn't let them. Not until the Guardians were with him.  
"Maybe you need a little more convincing" Pitch yelled as he snapped the stick in one swift move.

Jack yelled as his knees finally gave out from under him. He didn't even hear the door open as the Guardians rushed out to help their newest member.  
"Pitch!" Bunny yelled, throwing his boomerang towards the dark spirit.  
"Wish I could stay, Guardians. Your fear is quite enjoyable, but I must be on my way. I've gotten all the answers I need" Pitch paused, "Keep in touch Jack, I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other very soon." He smiled as he disappeared in a tornado of black sand.  
Sand made one last attempt to capture the intruder, but only succeed in grabbing Jack's staff back.

Sandy turned back to see Tooth helping Jack stand back up.  
"Jack, are you alright?" North asked.  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay" Jack answered before frantically looking around, "Please tell me one of you grabbed my staff" Sandy stepped forward and showed Jack the two halves. Jacks eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.  
"Jack, we're so sorry. We can always get you a new one." Tooth said, trying to focus on the positive.  
"No, we can't get a new one" Jack said, his voice raised a bit.

His arms pushed Tooth's out of the way gently as he took a step forward, but his legs weren't having it and folded on contact with the ground.  
Before his knees could even reach the ground, a strong, furry paw wrapped itself around his wrist and caught him in the air.  
"You're not going anywhere if ya can't even walk" Bunny argued.

"But I have to fix my staff" Jack continued.  
"We will worry about staff later. Now we worry about you" North spoke  
"No, you don't understand. I _have_ to fix it." Jack tried to explain.  
Sandy took in Jacks body language. His arm muscles were tensed up and his mouth was slightly open because he was breathing so hard. His eyes were darting around and his shoulders were tight and raised.

He was scared.

No scratch that.

Jack was _terrified._

Sandy waved his arms in the air to try and catch everyone's attention, but of course, it didn't work.  
It never did.  
So, instead, he walked to North and pulled on the red, furry jacket.  
"Sandy? What is it?" North asked, gaining three other pairs of eyes.  
Sandy faced Jack and created a picture of his staff, then an arrow pointing to a snowflake; his symbol for Jack. Then a question mark.  
"Yes, I have to have my staff" Jack answered, slightly holding out his hands to fix it.  
"Why do you need it right now? We said you could worry about it tomorrow." Tooth responded.

"It's-I have to-I don't, can't. It's hard to explain" Jack answered before continuing, "I don't know why, but I think the staff and I are connected in some way." Jack finished.  
"That's why you dropped when Pitch broke it" Bunny explained.  
"Yeah, but this time he drew it out for a longer-"  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa" Tooth interrupted, "Did you just say ' _but this time_ ' As in, like, this has happened before?" Tooth asked, anger slowly seeping into her voice.

"Uh...yeah"


	11. Staff Part 2

"Uh, yeah" Jack answered, sounding defeated, "When I went to go put Sophie to bed last Easter, I found Pitch's lair and all the teeth and the fairies" Jack started. "But when I was looking through the teeth, Pitch found me and somehow separated me from Baby Tooth and I couldn't go back the way I came" Jack explained, taking a breath, remembering how scared he had been when he saw the egg shells littering the ground.  
"After you told me to leave, I went to Antarctica and Pitch found me again"

Jack had to hold back a tiny smile at seeing Sandy's murderous gaze towards the other Guardians.  
"He told me to trade my staff for Baby Tooth" He heard Tooth lightly gasp as he continued his story.  
"When I gave him my staff, he refused to let Baby Tooth go, so she stabbed his hand" Jack smiled then frowned slightly.  
"But then he threw her into an ice ravine. Then he broke my staff and pushed me into the same ravine" Jack finished.

"Oh, Jack. We're so sorry" Tooth replied.  
"Why didn't ya say something?" Bunny asked.  
Jack felt a tinge of anger at the question.  
"Because you wouldn't let me!" Jack raised his voice. "I tried to apologize and explain but you wouldn't let me talk!" Jack yelled, facing Bunny specifically. He watched as Bunny's ears pressed against his skull and suddenly felt guilty for yelling.

"Can I just have my staff? Please"  
Bunny ignored the question as he spoke, "Jack, mate. I'm sor-" Bunny was cut off suddenly as Jack gasped in pain and clutched his sides as he sunk to the ground. Before anyone could say anything, Jack's head thunked onto the snowy landscape.  
"Jack!" Tooth yelled, leaning down to pick him up.  
"We must get inside, now" North ordered, taking the small spirit in his arms.

"What just happened?" Bunny asked.  
Sandy answered with a picture of Jacks staff, broken.  
"His staff was broken, so now he's hurt" Tooth translated. Sandy nodded as he made a picture of two strings intertwining.  
"Jack and the staff are connected" North said, softly placing Jack down on a bed. Sandy nodded vigorously, happy that his friends finally understood.  
"Yes, we know that. But in what way?" North asked.

Sandy carefully set the two halves of the staff on Jack's legs as he used both his symbols and hands to communicate.  
After five minutes of annoyed guessing and confused stares, the three remaining Guardians finally understood why Jacks staff was so important.  
"We have to fix his staff for him." Tooth insisted.  
"How do you plan to do that? Super glue?" Bunny joked.

"Touch my staff and I'll freeze you solid" A scratchy voice came from behind.  
"Jack! How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Are you hungry?" Tooth started speaking.  
"Tooth, calm down" North chuckled.  
"Um, I feel fine. And no, I'm not dizzy or hungry" Jack answered.

"Mate, we can't fix yer staff without touching it" Bunny spoke up.  
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. All I heard was 'staff' and 'super glue'" Jack smiled, slowly starting to sit up.  
"So how do you say we fix it?" North asked, gesturing to the staff.  
"Oh, you guys don't have to do anything" Jack answered, reaching for the wood at his feet.

"How are you planning on fixing that, mate?" Bunny asked quizzically.  
"Just give me a minute, I can do it" Jack breathed. Getting himself together, preparing himself for the draining feeling he felt last time.  
"Do you need us to do something for you?" Tooth offered.  
"Just stay right there" Jack answered.

He slowly brought the two halves together and took a deep breath. He felt the familiar feeling of power surging through his arms and up to his fingertips out to the wood in his hands. He could see the faint blue light slowly start to grow as the magic wood started to mend itself.  
A few more seconds later and his staff was back to one piece. Not looking up, Jack laid his staff down with heavy eyelids.

"Jack, how did you do that?" Tooth asked cautiously.  
"I don't know" Jack responded with a tired voice. "I Just, um, put the two halves together and imagine it being in one piece again." Jack shrugged.

"Strange" North mumbled.  
Sandy smiled lightly as he noticed Jack's eyes slowly closing, then jerking open again as Jack tried to stay awake.  
Rolling his eyes at the slight immaturity, Sandy let a stream of sand make its way to the frost child, grabbing the attention of the remaining three Guardians while doing so.

Tooth cooed, North chuckled and Bunny smirked as Jacks head plopped on the pillow behind him as the dream sand took affect.  
No one bothered to move his staff as they piled out of the room.

Turning to the group, Bunny spoke, "Lets go teach a lesson to the King of Shadows"


	12. Tinnitus

"You really think you should've given that to him?" Tooth asked, "I mean, he's already pretty hyperactive as it is"  
North waved off Tooths' concern, "It will be fine. The boy knows how to control himself" North answered.  
"You sure you know who you're talkin' bout, mate?" Bunny argued.  
"You know, I haven't put the earbuds in yet. I can still hear you" Jacks voice rang, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry, Sweet Tooth. It's just the things I've heard about kids being addicted and not being able to function properly."  
"Okay, one. I know that's not true because I hang out with the kids. And two, I'm pretty sure whatever you heard was exaggerated." Jack smiled, turning to North, "I really appreciate this, North. Thank you" Jack said, looking down at the earbuds in his hands.  
"Is no problem, Jack. I noticed a lot of children were asking for them and I thought you would like it" North replied.  
"I do. I think this will definitely help. Thanks!" Jack yelled as he rushed out of the room.

"He sure seems to like it" Tooth smiled.  
"I thought he might" North inwardly congratulated himself.  
"What did he mean by 'This will definitely help'?" Bunny asked.  
"I don't know. Maybe he's been bored recently and he thinks it will help?" Tooth shrugged.  
"But the boy often needs something to occupy his _hands_." North pointed out.

The three looked to Sandy to see if he had an answer, but unfortunately, the Sand Man knew just as much as them.  
"Here's a thought, why don't we just ask him?" Tooth commented.  
"Nah, mate. I was just curious. No need to go and bother the bloke" Bunny spoke up.  
"If you're sure" Tooth shrugged, lifting herself off the floor and heading to the window to fly back to her palace.

A few months later and the Guardians found themselves noticing that Jack almost always had his earbuds with him ever since he got them. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely got annoying after a while. Jack bringing the earbuds to the monthly meetings was the last straw.

"Jack, do you mind putting the music down?" North asked as he set a plate of cookies and a soda down on the table in front of him.  
"Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry" Jack mumbled, putting the earbuds down on the same table. North slid the soda in Jacks direction as he took a cookie for himself and started the meeting. Once North had shared, Sandy started showing images of everything going fine. No nightmares in sight. Tooth was next to share, then Bunny. And finally, Jack. After the meeting, Jack grabbed his earbuds and was about to rush back to his room when a big, furry paw grabbed his hood and stopped him in his tracks.

"Leave the earbuds." Bunny said, simply.  
"What? " Jack asked, afraid he hadn't heard the spirit correctly.  
"You heard me. Hand 'em over" Bunny held out his paw.  
"What! Why?" Jack asked, gripping his present tighter.

"Jack, we think you might be addicted and we just want to make sure it doesn't hurt you in the future." Tooth explained.  
"What, I'm not addicted" Jack defended.  
"Then you'll have no problem handing 'em over" Bunny smirked.

"Oh, c'mon! What if I just used them less. I promise I won't use them at meetings anymore" Jack complained.  
"What is so important about the earbuds, Jack?" North asked.  
Jack paused to contemplate what to say next. Finally, he confessed, "They cancel out the noise."  
The four Guardians stopped as they thought about what was just said.

Surprisingly, it was Bunny who figured it out first.  
"Ya got tinnitus?" Bunny asked.  
"I don't know what _that_ is, but if you mean the ringing I always hear, then yes." Jack answered.  
"Go. Take ya earbuds with ya" Bunny waved Jack away.  
Without hesitation, Jack zipped off to find an empty area in the workshop.

"Ta-what?" Tooth asked, turning to the Easter Bunny.  
"Tinnitus. It's ringing or buzzing in the ears. Usually it's caused by a really loud noise or hitting your head." Bunny explained, "I sometimes get it cause of my sensitive ears. I'm guessing the ankle bitter uses music to drown his out" Bunny finished.  
"But then why would he have it in the first place?" North questioned.

Sandy waved his arms around to get the others attention as he quickly made an image of two people on a lake and one of them falling under.  
"Sandy's right. Jack did say he fell through ice, maybe he hit his head when he fell." Tooth translated. Bunny and North agreed with this guess and they continued on with their day, keeping in mind to be patient with Jack when he had his earbuds with him.


	13. Panic

**Sorry I haven't posted in a while. One of my good friends went missing and I was helping her family look for her.  
** **She's been found and is safe at home.  
Thank you for being patient.  
On with the story!**

It had been a long night delivering toys and gifts and the Guardians wee very tired. Ever since Tooth had needed their help collecting the teeth, they had made it a tradition to help each other during their holidays. Tonight, it was Christmas and the four of them had just finished delivering to Europe. They were all worn out and ready to go back to the workshop and rest, but Tooth suggested they stop by Jacks lake to check up on him since he hadn't been with them to deliver the presents.

It was 3 in the morning in Europe, but now in Burgess it was only 7 in the evening. The four agreed to stop by before heading back to the workshop. A few seconds later, the Guardians could see Jack and three other people. Jamie, Sophie and Pippa.  
Jamie and Pippa notice the sleigh in the sky immediately and started to run to meet the legends halfway.  
Once the sleigh landed the spirits piled out to meet the gleeful children.

Before anyone could say anything a small, short, high pitched scream tore its way through the air, followed by the sound of splashing water. Then another short shout and another splash. The two kids and Guardians all turned quickly to see what the noises were, but found nothing. All they saw was an empty lake.

"Where'd Jack go?" Tooth asked suddenly.  
"He was just here a second ago" Pippa answered.  
Jamie looked around quickly before yelling, "Sophie! Where'd you go? Bunny's here!"  
Bunny smiled at how he was used as a way to coax the toddler out, but she didn't show.

A few more seconds of mysterious silence followed before Bunny spoke up, "Okay, where are you guys hiding?"  
Suddenly, a small figure popped up from under the ice.

"Sophie!" Jamie and Bunny yelled together, running out to the lake. Before they could touch the surface, an ice wall shot up, blocking them from reaching the young child. Not two seconds later, Jack came up from the same spot Sophie had.

Pippa and the rest of the Guardians had now followed to see what had happened.  
"Jack! Sophie!" Tooth yelled.  
The ice slowly built a force field over the entire lake, allowing the children and Guardians to see everything, but nothing else.

They watched as Jack slowly but surely made his way to the child and lifted her into his arms, further away from the now obvious hole in the ice. They watched as Sophie clung to Jacks chest as he hugged her and looked down. They watched his mouth move and Sophie nod. The ice then started to disintegrate, allowing the small crowd entry. Th Guardians and children crowded around the two soaking wet individuals.

"What happened?" North asked.  
"The ice broke" Jack breathed, holding the small blonde.  
"You okay, Soph?" Jamie asked quietly.  
"Cold." She spoke, burying her head deeper into the blue hoodie in front of her.  
"Then I'm probably not the person you want to be cuddling" Jack smiled sadly.  
"I can take her, mate" Bunny offered.

The past rivals silently passed the toddler between their arms as Sophie grabbed onto the soft, warm fur now surrounding her.

"I have to fix that before someone else falls in" Jack muttered to himself before walking towards the hole.  
"Hey, Soph. How 'bout we go home and we can make some hot cocoa?" Jamie comforted.  
"Home" Sophie agreed.  
"I should probably get home too" Pippa spoke, "Enjoy that hot cocoa, Sophie" Pippa smiled softly before heading in the opposite direction.

"How 'bout we all go to tha Warren, eh? I got some amazing chocolate we can use" Bunny suggested.  
"Sounds great. I will go prepare sleigh" North smiled.

As Jack finished closing the hold, the Guardians, Jamie and a sleeping Sophie all boarded the sleigh. Once everyone was on, North pulled out a snow globe and spoke into it. A few seconds later the sleigh was parked in the grass-fields of Bunny's Warren. The group slowly walked to another soft patch of grass and Bunny disappeared to go make the desired drink. Everyone was piled together, waiting.  
Everyone but Jack.

He didn't know how to deal with the tightness in his lungs. Or the stiffness in his arms and legs. His head was spinning so fast he thought he might throw up. Doing his best to ignore the urge, Jack sat down slowly. When Sophie had fallen in, he hadn't even told his body to move before his legs were racing to the toddler in trouble. He knew that when he dove in to retrieve the child, the water would be cold.

But Sophie didn't know this.

Such a drastic change in temperature shocked both bodies.  
Jack forced himself to focus on the small, sinking body and nothing else.  
Grabbing her arm, he used all his strength to haul her up above his head, getting her out of the water as quick as possible.  
After he pushed her up to the surface, he thought he felt a tug at his ankle, pulling him down, but the water was too dark to see anything clearly.

Forcing himself up above the ice, he noticed his friends nervously waiting behind a wall of ice. He picked up the coughing child and held her close to his chest.  
He asked her if she wanted to let the others in. She nodded. He found the strength to let the ice barrier fall and watched as the group rushed towards them.  
As he remembered these events, he couldn't stop his breath from quickening and his pupils from dilating.

Bunny had given the cups of hot chocolate to his little eggs so that he would have his hands free. As he followed the eggs out to the clearing where everyone else was, he noticed Jack sitting by himself. Bunny smiled as he thought of a perfect comment to get the spirits attention. As he walked closer, all thoughts of the sentence vanished.  
Bunny recognized the sight of tense muscles and quick breathing.

Jack was having a panic attack.

Immediately Bunny questioned why. Why would Jack be panicking right now? What might be the cause of it? Why was it happening now instead of earlier?

So many questions were running through his mind, until a noise canceled everything out.

A choked sob.

That was the breaking point for Bunny. Getting to Jack's side as quickly as he could carry himself, he carefully placed his paw on the blue hoodie, ignoring the sting of ice slowly creeping up on his fur.

"Frostbite, can ya hear me, mate?" Bunny moved in front of Jacks face so he might have better luck getting Jacks attention.  
Jacks breath started hitching and tears started forming at the edge of his eyes.  
"Jack! Hey! Can ya hear me?" Bunny asked again.

Jack gave no indication that he even knew someone was with him. Bunny grabbed both of Jacks shoulders and looked directly into the blurry blue eyes.  
"Jack, mate. Snap outta it. Yer safe. Yer okay" Jacks pupils dilated before shrinking again.

"B-Bunny? What are you-" Jack started.  
"Don't worry 'bout it, mate. Are you okay?" Bunny asked.  
"Um. I-I don't know" Jack answered truthfully.

"You were having a panic attack. What's wrong?" Bunny asked, not removing his hands from Jacks shoulders.  
"The ice" Jack mumbled to himself.  
"What about the ice, Jack?" Bunny whispered.

"I fell in" Jack answered, his hands finding Bunny's paws and fingers tangling into the fur.  
"Sophie fell in, yer the one who saved her" Bunny explained, obviously confused.  
"No. I fell in" Jack repeated, "I can't breathe." He suddenly spoke.

"Hey, Jack. Jack, look at me. Watch me, okay?" Bunny sprung into action, "Just breathe with me" Bunny took in a big, visible breath and watched as Jack mimicked him. He let out the breath and nodded as Jack followed suit.  
Bunny took in two more big puffs of air and stopped to check in on the spirit in front of him.  
"Ya good?" Bunny asked.  
"Yeah, yeah. I'm-"

Bunny interrupted. "Don't lie ta me. How are ya really feeling?" Bunny rephrased.  
Jack took in another big breath before answering, "Cold." Jack smiled slightly.  
It was only then that Bunny noticed that Jack was slightly shaking.  
"How are you of all people cold?" Bunny joked, subtly bringing Jacks body closer to his.

"Crikey, mate. You are cold" Bunny spoke, kicking himself for not noticing sooner.  
Jacks shaking must have been camouflaged by his panic attack.  
Jack chuckled.  
"Well, yeah I'm cold. My clothes are still wet" He paused before speaking again, "Did you get Sophie out of her wet clothes?" Jack asked.

"Uh, not that I know of." Bunny answered, feeling the light push of Jacks hands.  
"You gotta get her out of those wet clothes. She can get sick" Jack informed as he started to separate himself from the warm body.  
"Sounds like the same goes for you too, mate" Bunny spoke, grabbing the damp blue hoodie, stopping Jack in his tracks.

"But she's mortal" Jack argued.  
"Doesn't mean you can't get sick too" Bunny retorted.  
"Just get her out of her wet clothes and then we'll worry about me" Jack said, untangling himself from Bunny's grasp.

The two walked together until they found the group in a patch of soft grass. Everyone was asleep.  
Jack laughed, "Long night?"  
Bunny smiled, "Yeah, we're all pretty tuckered out"  
Jack found Sophie sleeping in between North and Tooth's arms with Jamie above her and dream sand floating over both the kids heads.

"I'll go get some towels and blankets" Bunny smirked, walking off.  
Jack started to lean down to wake up the girl.  
He expertly picked her up without waking anyone else.

Watching the golden sand fade away, he watched as Sophie's eyes slowly cracked open.  
"Hey, Soph. Sorry I woke you up, but I wanted to get you out of those cold clothes. Is that okay?" Jack asked.  
Sophie nodded softly as Jack shifted his body weight from one foot to the other.

Bunny came back with two sets of towels and blankets, placing them on the ground as he helped Jack get the bright yellow shirt off the sleepy toddler. Once they had her wrapped in one of the fluffy blankets Bunny brought, Jack placed her back in her spot next to Jamie, North and Tooth.

"Alright, mate. Yer turn" Bunny said, spinning around just in time to watch Jack zoom off.  
"Aw no, mate. you don't wanna race a rabbit" Bunny smirked to himself before racing off to find the young Guardian.

Five minutes of searching and Bunny still couldn't find Jack. Giving up, Bunny walked back to the sleep pile in the grass-lands only to find that Jack had beat him to it.

Wrapped up in the second blanket Bunny had brought, Jack was snuggled up against North's side with Sandy behind him.  
His still wet hoodie lay in a ball by his feet.  
Shaking his head to himself, Bunny bent down and grabbed Jacks hoodie and placed it further away from the group. Getting on his knees, Bunny curled up next to Sandy's back and closed his eyes.

Everything would work out.

He was sure of it.


	14. Concussion

To say that Bunny had been confused to see Jack in his warren would be an understatement. After their run-in with Pitch, Bunny had been a lot more open about the rest of the Guardians dropping in to say 'hi', but Jack was never one for showing up so low-key.  
"Hey, mate. What er ya doing here?" Bunny called out. Jack didn't answer.  
"Frostbite, what er ya doing?" Bunny asked again.  
Still no answer.

Now he was getting impatient.  
Why was Jack ignoring him?  
Bunny hopped closer to the spirit and placed a paw on his shoulder, "Hey. I asked you a question" Bunny said, turning Jack around to face him.  
Bunny's words caught in his throat as he took in the state of Jacks face.

There was a thin cut on the left side of his forehead. A bruise was forming on his cheek bone and his lip was split.  
There was also dirt and mud decorating his face and hair, making it a light brown instead of pure white.

"Frostbite what happened?" Bunny questioned.  
He watched as Jacks eyes bounced around as he contemplated his answer, "Tony um. I was, he. Um, then I fell and now you're here" Jack answered.

Bunny was taken aback. He had no idea what to make of the answer he was given.  
It was immediately clear to Bunny that Jack wasn't in his right mind.  
"What's this about Tony?" Bunny asked, sourly remembering the last time he and the Guardians met the summer spirit.  
"His territory" Jack breathed, "I was trying to, um, Tooth" Jack answered.

Bunny quickly tried to piece together what was being said. From what he could make out, it sounded like Jack had been trying to visit Tooth at her Palace and passed through Tony's territory. Which made sense. Asia was one of the warmer climates.  
"Tony did this to ya?" Bunny asked.  
He watched as Jack slowly nodded then tensed. Leaning even more on Bunny's chest, Jack groaned, "What's wrong mate?" Bunny looked down to face the dirty, ruffled head of hair.

"Head hurts" Jack whined.  
Now everything made sense. The slurred, unfinished sentences, the cuts and bruises and dirt.  
Jack had a concussion.

"Jack, mate, I gotta move you. Can you walk?" Bunny asked. He felt a small nod against his chest and he slowly let go of Jacks arms to let him steady himself. Slowly, Jack straightened out while still supporting himself on Bunny's arms. Before he could even take a step forward, his knees gave out from under him. Before his hands could catch the ground, a strong arm wrapped itself around his shoulders.

"Guess that's a no, then" Bunny said out loud.  
Trying not to jostle Jacks head, Bunny slowly dipped down to pick up Jacks forgotten staff and moved them both to his personal room.  
"I'm gonna need to clean ya up a little" Bunny said, almost regrettably.  
"Mmm, okay" Jack hummed.

Bunny quickly recalled every bit of information he could think of about concussions and mentally checked things off.  
Lethargic? Check.  
Confusion? Check.  
Mumbled and broken speech? Check.  
There was one more check Bunny could think of.  
He called it word vomit.

When the filter in your brain breaks and you say whatever comes to your mind.  
Jack hadn't rambled yet, but Bunny didn't hold his breath.  
He gently laid Jack down on a soft, elevated patch of grass, "Just relax, mate. I'll be back with some things to help clean ya up" Bunny said as he placed Jacks staff on the wall next to him and hopped off.

Grabbing a pail of water and a cloth, some bandages with some disinfectant cream Bunny made his way back to Jack to see the spirit falling asleep.  
"Not yet, mate" Bunny said with a raised voice. This startled Jack and woke him up.  
Bunny's ears fell down in guilt but he quickly dismissed it and set to cleaning the dirt off Jacks face and hair.

He quickly replaced Jacks muddy hoodie and pants with emergency clothes he had for the other Guardians. Namely North.  
Having finished in under half an hour, Bunny decided to clean and dress Jacks head wound.  
"This might sting a bit, mate" Bunny warned. Shifting his supplies to the side, Bunny sighed to himself as he gently took Jacks head in his paws.

"Ugh, did you get the number of that bus?" Jack moaned as he reached out to grab his head.  
Bunny chuckled, "Ya feel any better?" Bunny asked.  
"Not really" Jack answered truthfully as he looked down, "Why do I look like a mini version of North?" Jack asked  
"I had ta get you outta those dirty clothes" Bunny answered, a little worried that Jack didn't seem to recall anything that had just occurred.

"What! When did that happen?" Jack spoke.  
"Just now mate, you were pretty outta it. Do you remember anything else?" Bunny asked.  
"No-But I guess I can't remember a lot of things. I do remember that time when you told me I was on the naughty list and I thought you were serious" Jack started rambling, "And I remember when Tooth ran into that big build board when we were racing and then Sandy and I found Pitch" Jack kept talking.

Bunny sighed.  
Word vomit? Check.  
"Alright, mate. I'm gonna stop you right there" Bunny lightly chuckled. He needed to keep Jack talking, but he also needed to know if Jack knew where he was.  
"Do ya know where ya are?" Bunny asked, grabbing Jacks head to check the wound.  
"Um, the Workshop?" Jack guessed.  
"Try again. Look around ya" Bunny responded.  
Jack slowly looked around and spoke again, "The Warren?" Jack asked.

"Yep. Do ya remember how ya got here?"  
Jack slightly winced as Bunny's paw bruised against his head.  
"No. But I do remember tripping a lot" Jack answered.  
"Yeah?" Bunny edged on.  
"Cause my foot hurt and everything was spinning" Jack answered.

This got Bunny's attention, "Yer foot hurts?" Bunny repeated, making his way down to Jacks legs.  
"Yeah. Tony grabbed it when I tried to get away" Jack answered with no emotion.  
There was a small pause of silence before Jack started talking again,

"Did you know that Tooth can understand Sandy?" He asked.  
Bunny looked up, confused. Of course he knew that. He had lived with them for many, many, many years.  
"Uh, yeah mate. I knew that" Bunny answered, picking up one of Jacks feet.  
"I never told you how much I liked our race" Jack spoke suddenly, "It was fun" Jack complimented.

"I liked it too mate" Bunny smiled putting the first foot down and picking up the other one.  
"How many years have you been the Easter Bunny?" Jack asked, "I remember Easter in 1710. Do you remember that?" Jack asked again.  
"Uh, not really. That was a while ago" Bunny explained as he examined the other foot. This one was a little swollen and it was pained light shades of black and blue. Definitely dislocated.

Bunny's ears folded as he realized he'd have to set it. And that was going to hurt like Hell. Quickly, Bunny realized that Jack was still talking. This was good. If Jack could distract himself Bunny could fix the broken ankle without too much trouble. Taking in a deep breath, Bunny placed the foot back down and placed both paws flat on the joint. Bunny looked up to find that Jack had stopped talking and was now staring lasers at him.  
"I gotta set it" Bunny explained

"Why?" Jack asked  
"Cause it's dislocated" Bunny reasoned.  
"When did that happen?" Jack looked confused, as if he had never seen his own foot before. A few more seconds of silence was followed by Jack quickly looking up and asking, "Where's my staff?"

Bunny was thrown off by the sudden change in subject, but used it to his advantage, "It's right over there. Look" Bunny pointed across the room to an empty corner. Getting ready, Bunny watched as Jack's head whipped back.  
Summoning all his strength into his arms, Bunny pushed down on the jutting bone and flinched slightly at the sickening crack.  
"It's not there" Jack looked back, not noticing the newly set joint.

Okay, time to panic.

Jack looked down at his foot, "Ow" he whispered.  
"Yeah, 'ow'" Bunny repeated, "Did ya even feel that?" He asked  
"I feel it now" Jack said as he reached down to support the aching ankle.  
"Sorry, mate. Had to be done" Bunny grimaced as he grabbed some leftover wrap.

"It hurts" Jack whined.  
"Sorry" Bunny said as he gingerly lifted the now set ankle to wrap it.  
"Why are you so mean to me all the time?" Jack moaned  
"What'ya mean?" Bunny asked, not looking up from his work.  
"You always yell at me and you almost hit me last Easter. And you're always finding new ways to annoy me" Jack explained.

"Ya sure ya not talking about yourself?" Bunny chuckled  
"See! There you go again!" Jack yelled over dramatically. Bunny smiled, if Jack ever remembered this, he would definitely have to tease him about this later, "I ain't trying ta be annoying. It's just...playful banter." Bunny said as he finished wrapping the broken ankle.

"Well, I don't think it is very funny" Jack mumbled.  
Bunny took in this sentence and quickly spoke, "Do ya not like me teasing ya?" Bunny asked warily.  
"I guess it just depends on the joke" Jack answered, "Like the time you threw a paint bomb on me, that was hilarious. But the time you dumped that bucket of water on me, I thought you hated me" Jack confessed.

Bunny paused, "Why did ya think that?" Bunny asked.  
Jack took a second to think. Bunny blamed it on his concussion, "Cause I hate water" Jack answered.  
Bunny stuttered, "Why do ya hate water?"  
Jack didn't answer  
"Ya got Aquaphobia?"  
It was Jacks turn to look confused, "What's Akafoba?"  
Bunny chuckled, "Aquaphobia. Fear of water?" Bunny repeated.

"Yeah, I'm afraid of water" Jack confirmed  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah"  
"Why?" Bunny questioned

"Do you think the reason it's called sand is because it's in between the sea and the land?" Jack asked.  
Bunny blinked in shock, "What?" Bunny asked  
"It's called sand" Jack repeated  
"Yeah?" Bunny answered, confused.

"Is it cause it's between the sea and the land?" Jack asked again.  
Bunny didn't answer, collecting his thoughts. He took in a breath and spoke slowly, "We're getting off topic"

"Why?" Jack asked  
"Why what?" Bunny asked.  
"Why are we off topic?" Jack clarified

"Cause you got a concussion and ya not thinking straight" Bunny explained.  
"Oh" Jack breathed, "Is that why the room is spinning?" Jack asked  
"Yeah" Bunny answered  
"My foot hurts" Jack complained.  
"Yeah, I know, mate. I'm sorry" Bunny spoke.

Taking the silence to think, Bunny decided that Jack was allowed to sleep now.  
"Hey, mate, you can sleep now if you want" Bunny spoke.  
"But I'm not tired" Jack answered, "Am I?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, ya are" Bunny smirked  
"Okay" Jack agreed as he closed his eyes and slumped down into the soft cushions he was currently sitting on.  
Bunny watched as Jacks eyes slipped close and his breathing evened out.  
Bunny was glad Jack was okay and slightly flattered that Jack had come to him for help first. Thinking back at their conversation, Bunny chuckled.

Oh yeah, he could use this as blackmail later.


	15. Drawing

"He was here just a moment ago" North answered, looking around for the frost spirit.  
"Well, he's not here anymore" Bunny argued. It was common for Jack to be late to meetings, though he had been making a conscious effort to be more punctual.  
"At least we know he's in the building" Tooth offered.  
While Bunny and North argued about where Jack might be, Sandy looked around himself to find a yeti. Maybe they could waste less time finding Jack if he could send a yeti to go instead of all four of them going.  
Sandy used his sand to flag a yeti down, fortunately, he seemed to have gotten Phil's attention. Sandy communicated that Phil was needed to go and search for their youngest member.

Phil answered with gibberish, talking with his hands and pointing out the door.  
"What do you mean?" North suddenly cut in, over-hearing Phil's answer to Sandy. Phil answered with more gibberish while the other Guardians watched as North's face changed from confusion to concern.  
"What do you mean you gave him paints?" North questioned.  
Phil answered before North lifted his hand to his head, "Have you gone mad?" North asked, sarcastically.

"What's wrong mate?" Bunny asked, hopping forwards. "Phil says Jack got here early so he would not be late again, but boy got bored so Phil gave him art supplies to keep busy." North translated.  
"Why is that so bad?" Tooth asked.  
"Think about it, shella. Jack is out of control as it is. Then add paints and pencils in with the mix." Bunny explained.  
Tooth took a moment to think before lifting herself off the ground.

"We need to find him before he hurts himself" Bunny rolled his eyes at Tooth's protective side, "We need to find 'im before he makes a mess" Bunny corrected.  
Sandy turned to Phil and signed a question mark. Phil answered and North translated.  
"He is in Dining room" North stated as he walked forward.

The group then made their way to the dining room and braced themselves for the clean up bound to happen. Bunny opened the door and took a breath to start scolding, but found himself stuttering. The words frozen on his tongue.  
The dining room was as clean as could be. Not a speck of paint anywhere.  
The four turned their heads to see Jack sitting at the table swinging his legs while drawing. He had his earbuds in and was blasting the music so loud that the Guardians could hear it from the doorway.

Jack was softly humming along as his hand helped the pencil glide across the paper in front of him.  
"Well I'll be" North whispered to himself.  
"The place is spotless" Bunny spoke.  
"I wonder what he is drawing" North smiled as he walked over to the young Guardian. The three remaining spirits followed suit as they crowded around Jack's back. They watched silently as Jack used his pencil to shade the fur of a very realistic looking Bunny.

The picture itself was of the four of them, in all their glory.

North's eyes held an unspoken emotion paired with wonder. His beard and coat both held a texture so rich it seemed as if you could reach out and touch it.  
You could see each grain of sand that made up the Sandman's hair and clothes. Yet, you could tell when the clothing stopped and the skin began. You could almost hear the bits of sand grinding against each other.  
Tooth's eyes shouted with bubbly joy and her feathers looked soft and lively. Her wings glittered with an invisible light and looked as delicate as in real life.  
You could see Bunny's varying warrior tattoos thanks to the expertly placed shading, and his weapons looked as if you could hold them.  
In the background, there was a familiar looking shadow. Not similar enough to be Pitch, but the Guardians could tell it shared a close resemblance.

The four stood in awe as they continued to watch Jack sketch. All of them feeling a different emotion.

North felt pride in his self-proclaimed son's hobby. It was clear that Jack enjoyed what he was doing. North made a mental note to introduce more art supplies into the workshop.  
Tooth felt as a proud mother would to her child at Jack and his talent. If Jack could do something this impressive with a little bit of effort and time put into it, she was sure Jack could go far if he just put time and effort into the things he didn't enjoy as much.  
Bunny felt jealous at first, seeing how easy it was for Jack to made such a realistic image. Then he felt an emotion one could only describe as sibling love. He might have to take up Jack's offer about helping paint the eggs.  
Sandy was happy. He was happy because Jack was happy. He was happy that Jack's talent was being recognized for what it was. He was sure to bring this up later, but maybe with just him and Jack.

Jack hadn't seemed to realize he was being watched so he kept drawing with visible years of experience.  
It was then that Sandy made an observation.  
He signaled to the others then showed them a picture of a snowflake with an 'X' over it, then pointed to Jacks drawing.  
The three of them looked down at the paper and noticed that Sandy was right.

Jack wasn't in the drawing.  
It was just the four of them, excluding the ominous shadow in the back.

"Why didn't he draw himself? Tooth asked in a quiet voice so as not to disturb Jack.  
"Why don't ya ask him?" Bunny responded.  
Tooth took a second to breathe before lightly tapping Jack on the shoulder.

Jack was taken by surprise as he spun around and met the Big Four eye to eye. He took his earbuds out and slightly frowned, "Oh, did I miss the meeting? I swear I was gonna be on time" Jack explained.  
"It's not that, mate" Bunny reassured. Tooth then took the silence to ask, "Why aren't you in the picture?"  
Jack looked confused as he leaned back to see what she was talking about, "Oh, um. I don't know. I guess I just draw what I see a lot, and I see you guys the most" Jack shrugged.

This answered seemed to satisfy the four legends. Taking in a breath of air, Jack flipped the paper over and stood up. "Let's get this meeting done with" He smiled.  
Jack exited the room with North, Tooth and Bunny in tow.  
Sandy stayed behind and flipped the paper back over. He smiled at the amount of talent their youngest had.  
He knew the real reason Jack didn't include himself in the drawing was because he didn't see himself as part of the family yet.

Nodding to himself, Sandy made up his mind.  
He would do all he could to make Jack feel included.  
Maybe one day Jack would be able to include himself in the drawing.


	16. Flinching

If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't see it. But Bunny was looking for it.  
It wasn't much, just a step back or tense muscles once in a while. But it was there. It happened whenever someone would move too fast in his direction or yell too loudly, and it broke Bunny's heart every time. The one question that had been bugging him since he noticed was  
"Why?"

Why did he do it. Logically it made no sense. Jack knew none of them would ever hurt him on purpose, so why flinch?  
Maybe it was a habit. Formed over the 300 years of isolation.  
Maybe it was reflex, though Bunny didn't know what for.  
If anyone had been hurting Jack before they had gotten to him, Bunny was going to be having a long talk with that spirit.

Bunny took advantage of Jack being in his warren to help paint eggs and asked him exactly what was on his mind.  
"Why do ya do that?" Bunny questioned as Jack flinched for the third time that day.  
"Do what?"  
Bunny moved his arm fast towards Jack's face. Jack moved back with lightning fast reflexes.  
"That. Flinch" Bunny explained.

"I don't know. Habit I guess?" Jack shrugged.  
"Ya need a reason ta start a habit" Bunny pointed out, "And ya have ta repeat it enough times for it to become one." Bunny watched as Jack visibly fidgeted as his eyes darted around for an escape.  
Bunny smiled.  
He knew for a fact there was no way Jack was getting out of this one.

"Maybe I just don't like things flying towards my face at fast speeds" Jack explained.  
Bunny had to admit, it was a good enough answer, but it wasn't the truth.  
"Then what about loud noises? Ya flinch at those too" Bunny added.

"Um," Jack stuttered, "It hurts my ears" Jack answered.  
"Uh, huh" Bunny mocked.  
"What! It's true" Jack defended.  
"Jack, just tell me tha truth. You can trust me, right?" Bunny asked.

Jack's eyes bounced up from the ground at the mention of his real name and not some ridiculous nickname like 'Frostbite'  
It showed Jack that Bunny was serious about this.  
"Yeah. Yeah, I can trust you" Jack answered before letting out a breath to think. Bunny let him have the silence because he knew Jack would tell him the truth this time.

"I'm just afraid you might get mad and hit me" Jack finally admitted.  
Bunny took a second to think, "Ya know we would neva hurt you right?" Bunny spoke.  
"You almost did. Last Easter." Jack pointed out.

Bunny faltered. He thought back to the Easter when Pitch attacked. He had been so hurt and so heartbroken that he hadn't even thought about what he had done that day.  
He remembered wanted to hurt Jack so badly. Wanting to get rid of the person who caused his holiday so much grief. But he had stopped himself. Reminding himself about why Easter was really celebrated.

But maybe someone in Jack's past hadn't been able to stop themselves.

This time it was Bunny who flinched, "I'm so sorry mate. I-I didn't realize"  
Jack smiled sadly, "It's okay, you didn't know" Jack shrugged.  
"Don't do that, mate. It's not okay. I promise I'll try ta be more careful" Bunny offered.

Jack gave a small, genuine smile this time.  
"Thanks"


	17. Snap

"North, ya better get in here" Bunny yelled, taking another stop forwards to balance himself out with the extra body leaning up against him.  
"Bunny, what is matter?" North asked, stepping out of his office. Gasping softly, North walked swiftly towards Bunny then passed him to find an empty room.

"This way" North called out as he found an unused toy storage room.  
"Alright, mate." Bunny started, "Last time we move, I promise"  
Jack gave a grunt before responding, "I just broke my leg, I'm not five years old" He snapped  
"Yeah? Well until you can stand on ya own again, you're gonna have ta deal" Bunny retorted.

The two spirits slowly made their way to the empty room where North was waiting.  
"What happened?" North asked as he stepping aside to let Bunny ease Jack down onto the table in front of them.  
"This idiot thought it'd be funny to crash land inta a tree. I found him holdin' his leg as if his life depended on it" Bunny explained.

"For your information, Kangaroo. I didn't think it would be funny. I was trying to cushion my fall" Jack stated.  
"Why were you falling in first place?" North questioned.  
"I just dropped my staff" Jack answered shortly.

North and Bunny silently eyed each other, both knowing that the answer they were just told wasn't even close to the truth. After a few more seconds of silence, North moved towards Jacks let to get a better look.  
"Is clean break. Makes it easier to reset" North smiled.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Could you repeat that? I could've sworn you said 'reset'" Jack spoke.  
"It is only way to help leg heal properly" North continued.  
"Um...no thanks, I can just fly everywhere from now on" Jack shifted further away from the Cossack.

"What's wrong Frostbite? Ya scared?" Bunny teased.  
"No, I just don't like being in pain" Jack answered  
"Well, you will be in a lot more pain if we don't set it" North intervened.

Jack took a second to breath before responding, "Okay, um. Just, just give me a minute,"  
Taking in a couple big breaths before looking up at the two older legends, "Could you give me a countdown?" Jack asked hesitantly.  
"Of course. What from?" North asked, walking closer to the table.  
"A thousand?" Jack said with a nervous smile.

"How 'bout three" Bunny spoke up  
"Five?" Jack compromised.  
"Da, five" North agreed.  
The Russian walked forward as Bunny carefully took Jacks shoulders.

Jack looked around himself. With hands on his shoulders holding him down while another set of hands was laying on his injured leg, he kind of started to freak out.  
"Um, guys. I-actually. Could we do this another-"

SNAP

"North!" Bunny yelled.  
"What, I counted to five" North shrugged.  
"No you didn't!" Jack yelled, reaching for his throbbing leg.  
"Yes, I counted to five in head" North answered again.

"Ya supposed ta count out loud" Bunny replied.  
"Yes, but then we wouldn't fix leg. You were planning to run off, no?" North asked, facing Jack.  
"What? No way" Jack answered immediately.  
Both Bunny and North gave him a look that told him his lies were in vain.  
"I might have been planning a rain check" Jack muttered.

"Da, see. Got let fixed before that happened" North smiled at Bunny.  
"Now, tell us Jack. Why did you fall?" North turned.  
"I already told you. I dropped my staff" Jack answered.  
"Yeah, and we didn't believe ya tha first time" Bunny spoke.

"You can be honest with us Jack"

Jack sighed as he looked down at his legs, "Promise you won't get mad?" Jack asked.  
"Course" Bunny promised.  
"I was chasing a Nightmare and I guess it must've called in a couple of its friends cause after I got it with my ice, my staff was knocked out of my hand and something hit me in the back." Jack explained.

"So ya didn't drop ya staff. It was knocked outa yer hands?" Bunny pointed out.  
"Same difference" Jack shrugged.

Both North and Bunny sighed in defeat. They would work on Jacks self-blaming problem another time.

"Well, I will go get wrap and then you will stay in room until it heals" North spoke.  
"What! That'll take forever!" Jack complained.

"Only if ya don't stay off it" Bunny warned.  
"But what about winter?" Jack tried to reason.  
"I'm sure wherever you're needed can last a few days without snow" North reasoned back, laughing.

Jack groaned as he flopped back down on the table before grimacing at the jolt of electricity shooting through his leg.  
"Crikey, mate. Careful" Bunny scolded.  
"Yeah, got it" Jack moaned.

North soon came back with the wrap and got to work on bandaging the injured limb.  
"Okay. Bed. Two days" North demanded, pointing to the bed then Jack.

"Two days! That's like...a week" Jack complained.  
"No, it's two days" North answered, slightly amused.  
"Quit yer yapping. You'll be up in no time" Bunny smirked, "Probably before that" Bunny finished.

Jack smiled.  
Yeah. He'd be up and around before anyone could catch him.


	18. Abused

"You want us ta what?" Bunny all but yelled.  
"At least that is what I have translated." North answered.  
"So where is he?" Tooth asked, looking around

North gave a sad smile and looked down at his feet. A head of brown hair poked out from behind followed by a small whine.  
"Guardians, Jack. Jack, Guardians" North introduced.  
Tooth brought her hands to her heart as she awed at the adorableness that was Jack.  
"You look pretty" Jack complimented, pointing towards Tooth.  
"Thank you" Tooth giggled, fluttering closer.

"This is Tooth" North smiled.  
"Like the Tooth Fairy?" Jack asked, stepping away from the protective shield of North's leg.  
"Exactly" Tooth smiled.

Jack smiled back as he looked towards Sandy  
"You're sparkly" Jack pointed out.  
Sandy gave out a silent laugh as he waved his arms to let sand dance around the young child.

Jack's eyes doubled in size as the golden substance made its way around his head and under his arms.  
Jack gave a quiet giggle as he started to chase it, but ended up bumping into Bunny's leg instead.  
"Uh oh" Jack squeaked as he stepped back.

The Guardians laughed at Jack's sudden fear of the Aussie.  
"No need ta be afraid" Bunny smiled as he took a knee to get to eye level with Jack,  
"You're the Easter Bunny" Jack said matter-of-factly  
"That I am" Bunny agreed.

"If you're the Easter Bunny then I'm gonna call you Bunny" Jack decided before turning back at Sandy, "And I'm calling you Sandy" Jack smiled  
Sandy gave a thumbs up as Jack started to turn back around.  
Bunny took this time to drag North away to talk.

Making sure Jack was being distracted by Tooth and Sandy, he spoke, "Are ya sure ya didn't translate wrong?" Bunny questioned.  
"Jack is proof I did not" North answered  
"Yeah, but are ya sure ya know why" Bunny repeated.

"Man in Moon said Jack will be turning back to child so we can further understand why he is the way he is" North paused before lifting an eyebrow, "Because you questioned why he is so 'Unpredictable'" North explained.

"Ya not tryin' ta pin this on me now, are ya?" Bunny questioned, trying to sound offended.

"No. But I am not saying this was not caused by you"  
Bunny scoffed as he turned back to the trio having fun playing with golden sand.  
The two older Guardians started to walk closer to the group to start asking questions, but before they could open their mouths, Jack bumped into a table which resulted in a couple toys crashing to the ground.

Jack gasped due to the loud noise startling him as he froze in his tracks.  
North stepped forward to start picking up the discarded toys, but paused to notice Jack tearing up.  
"What is wrong Jack? Did noise scare you?" North asked, forgetting the toys in favor of the young child in distress.  
"Shhh" Jack hissed, sniffing as he brought his hands to his mouth.

"What's wrong Sweet Tooth?" Tooth asked, starting to become concerned.  
"Be quiet." Jack whispered, "So he doesn't get us"  
The Guardians looked at each other, but followed Jacks orders.  
Bunny walked over to Jack and whispered, "Who are ya talking about?"

"The monster" Jack whispered back.  
This made the Guardians relax a bit.  
"Jack. There is no such things as monsters. Is all in head" North tried to comfort, raising his voice a bit.

"Shh!" Jack scolded again, "Yes there is." Jack continued to argue.  
"Alright then, mate." Bunny whispered, "Describe the monster to us. Maybe we can hunt him down so he'll stop scarin' ya" Bunny smiled.  
Jack complied as he looked around himself, "He smells gross and he yells and he's really big." The young child started.

"Does he have a tail?" Tooth offered.  
"Uh uh" Jack shook his head.  
Sandy conjured up a picture of a pair of hands with sharp nails.  
"Does he have claws?" Bunny translated.

"No. He looks like me, but all grown up" Jack answered.  
This threw the Guardians off.  
"Is he you?" North asked, obviously confused.  
"No. He just looks like me. And like Emma" Jack continued, "He's loud and he always throws stuff." Jack finished.

"Who's Emma?" Tooth asked, going off topic.  
"My sister. The monster looks like us." Jack repeated.  
It was then that Bunny made the connection.

"Aw no, mate." Bunny muttered, ears falling down, "The monster isn't yer dad is it?"  
This question had all four Guardians heads spinning towards the child in front of them.  
Jack paused before looking around and speaking in a normal tone, "I don't know." Jack shrugged, "Mama calls him John" Jack replied.

"He was really nice to us one time, but then he left and came back all mean." Jack explained, relaxing a bit more.  
The Guardians were floored. They had no clue what to do. Never in a thousand years had they ever even suspected a possibility as horrid as this.

"He's always so cheerful" Tooth mumbles to herself. Jack smiled when he heard this, "Yeah, Mama says we have to keep smiling." Jack said, facing the fairy, oblivious to how deep his situation was.  
"Mama says we shouldn't expect John to come back. He's hurt"

"Why shouldn't you expect him back if he's hurt?" Tooth asked.  
"Because hurt people hurt people."

That was the line.

Those four words broke the barrier.

Hurt people _hurt people_.

All four Guardians were hit with a flash of memories.  
Memories from their pasts when people had hurt them. When they had hurt others.  
Memories of Pitch.  
Memories of Jack.

Jack noticed the four adults staring off into the distance and not speaking. Thinking he had done something wrong he started to get scared.  
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you" Jack apologized, holding back frightful tears.  
Bunny wasn't having any of that,

"Hey. Hey, hey. It's alright Mate. It's okay. We were all just thinkin'" Bunny quickly explained, leaning over to meet Jacks face.  
"You're not mad?" Jack asked.

"Crikey, course not" Bunny smiled slightly.  
"Okay" Jack smiled back.  
"We will never be mad at you for speaking the truth" North spoke.  
"Or speaking your mind" Tooth added.

Sandy created a quick image of the five of them in a group hug, with Jack squeezed in the middle.  
Jack gave a small giggle at the sight of the sparkly sand making a reappearance.

* * *

A few weeks later, Jack was back to normal and making his best efforts to annoy Bunny to no end.  
"Oi! I'm gonna kill ya, frostbite!" Bunny yelled as Jack laughed.

"Just wait till I get my hands on ya. You'll be—what's wrong?" Bunny quickly shifted from angry to concerned.  
Jack had stopped running and had fallen to his knees. His face twisted in worry.  
"Frostbite. Ya okay. What happened?"

Jack took a second to respond, "s-sorry. I just, I thought you sounded like someone I knew" Jack explained.  
His mind immediately going to a few weeks back, Bunny's ears fell. "I'm sorry mate. I didn't mean ta-"

"It's okay. You didn't know" Jack said, cutting Bunny off.  
Bunny never got a chance to tell Jack that he did, in fact, know.

Taking in a breath, Jack got off his knees and formed a small smile. "So, you gonna chase me or do I have to freeze your ears together again?" Jack asked.  
"You better start runnin' now mate" Bunny smiled back


	19. Heat

It was cold.  
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just that he was always cold.  
Being the bringer of winter had its perks, but it also had its downsides. One of which was the cold.

Jack loved the cold, but it got old after 300 plus years.  
You wouldn't expect it, but Jack liked the heat.  
Well, he liked the idea of heat.  
He craved to feel the waves of warmth the fire place gave off, he wished he could sit with everyone else next to it like a normal person.

But it hurt.

The heat hurt him.

Not like a sunburn, but more of a fever.  
His body was literally made for the cold, whether he liked it or not.  
The heat threw off his entire body temperature.  
It was North who first noticed that Jack was staring into the fire, unblinking.  
"Jack, why don't you come sit with us?" He offered.

Jack turned towards the Cossack before speaking, "Uh, no thanks. I'm good."  
"Is it the fire?" Tooth asked, worried her friend was getting too hot, "We can put it out"

"No! No, it's okay. I'm okay, it's not the fire." Jack spoke quickly, "I was just, uh, thinking" Jack finished.  
Jack chose to ignore the eyebrow raise he received from North and the slight chuckle from Bunny.

"When does that happen?" Bunny smirked.

Jack didn't speak as he looked back at the fire.  
He watched the flames lick the side of the stone fireplace and longed to feel the soft burn of the riding heat. He wondered how close he could get without damage. Maybe he could get close enough to feel it. Or maybe his presents would freeze the flames where they stood.

Maybe it was for the best. He wouldn't want to ruin the heat for everyone else in the room. But, if he could just get close enough-  
"Jack!"

Jack blinked as he was brought back from his thoughts.  
"What" Jack asked, now noticing all four Guardians were watching him.  
"I said your name three times" Tooth answered, a concern look on her face.  
"Oh, sorry. I didn't hear you" Jack apologized softly.

"Yeah, no kidding." Bunny commented.  
"Are you okay?" North asked.  
"Yeah. I'm fine" Jack repeated, glancing towards the fire once more.

Sandy followed his gaze and suddenly it all clicked.

While the three remaining continued to interrogate Jack, Sandy used his sand to create a thin wall of sand in front of the fire.  
The others took notice immediately.

"Sandy, what are you doing?" Tooth asked, lifting herself into the air.

Without responding, Sandy quickly pushed Jack towards the wall of sand.  
Jack yelped at the sudden movement. As he got closer to the fire, Jack noticed he couldn't feel the blinding heat like he knew he should've.  
Sandy's sand relaxed as Jack faced the wall. It was warm. Not hot.

It was warm enough for Jack to feel it, but not so hot that it was uncomfortable.

Jack smiled as he realized what Sandy had just done for him.  
"Thank you" Jack keeled, making eye contact with the smaller man.  
Sandy smiled and nodded as he gestured to the wall. Jack took the hint and leaned against the barrier, sighing happily.

The other three were watching with content confusion. Sandy looked back at them and gave them a look that said "I'll explain later"

This seemed to satisfy the spirits for the time being.

They continued their conversation with Tooth and Bunny on the couch, North in a chair, and Sandy and Jack on the ground in front of the fire.


	20. Apology

Hey guys.

I'm so sorry for not updating like I should've been. Life happened and I got side-tracked.

I recently read through all the reviews on this story and honestly I think the people around me thought I was mental because I was smiling so hard.  
Please keep commenting, it warms my heart to see how much you guys appreciate the story.

Thank you for complimenting my writing and telling me what you guys like to see.  
Thank you for telling me what I can fix to make my writing better and easier to follow.  
Thank you for reading.

I promise I will do my best to update more frequently.  
In the meantime, let me know what you guys want to see. I'll try and make it a reality.


	21. Nightmares

**Uia gave the request for this story**

It's not like it was hard to figure out. The dark circles under his eyes weren't concealed. His slouched posture wasn't straightened. His yawns weren't hidden.  
Sandy knew Jack hadn't been sleeping well.  
Sandy knew Jack had been having nightmares.

But Sandy also knew that if he were to confront Jack about it, Jack would deny it and race off faster than Sandy could sign "wait".

When he first found out, Sandy figured that if it was a true problem, Jack would come to him. Then he remembered that Jack was a stupid, reckless teenager and held his pride almost higher than Bunny's.

It was when he caught Jack almost face-planting for the second time that day that Sandy decided he needed to take action.  
His first instinct was to just ambush Jack with a ball of sand to the face and let the spirit sleep, but his brain stopped him.  
Making Jack sleep wouldn't help with any long-term sleeping problems. It would just fix Jack's tiredness right then and there.  
Jack needed to learn that when he needed help, he needed to go to the Guardians.

He needed to learn how to trust them.

Ambushing him and making him do something he didn't want to do was not a good way to earn that trust.  
So Sandy contemplated going to the rest of the Guardians.  
If he could have backup then it would be easier to convince Jack he needed help.

But once again, Sandy scrapped the idea.

He knew for a fact that Jack hated feeling like a burden.  
And involving the rest of the Guardians would just put the spotlight on Jack.  
He needed to keep this between him and Jack.

Obviously he couldn't just leave it alone and expect Jack to come to him.

The boy would run himself into the ground before that happened.

He needed to be sneaky.

And with that, Sandy had his plan.

* * *

Three days later found Jack slumped on a window sill with Tooth sitting under him, Bunny next to the fire and North sitting with Sandy in the two armchairs.  
Sandy was doing his best to sneak subtle glances at the winter spirit, but he knew Tooth was getting curious as to why he kept glancing her way.  
He also knew that Jack had caught on to what he had been doing.

Surprisingly, Jack didn't resist.

Sandy knew his plan was working when he found that the pouch of sand he left on a random window sill was gone.  
Leaving random pockets of his sand around the workshop seemed to be doing the trick.

It was a subtle way to let Jack know that Sandy knew about his trouble sleeping without sounding too threatening.  
It let Jack take his problem into his own hands while also letting him know that Sandy, and by extension the other Guardians, were there for him.

Sandy smiled as he watched Jacks eyes slip close with the remainder of the last batch of sand that had been found.

Sandy knew he would never be able to force Jack to come to him when a problem presented itself, but he would try his hardest to make sure Jack knew there was no danger in asking for a little help.


	22. Courage

**Requested by Bowser14456**

They all knew Pitch would be back. It didn't matter when, because they knew it would happen.  
They just didn't know how.  
Now they were all wishing they had prepared just a little more.  
They all knew Pitch would attack during the night. And now they were regretting letting it go.

Jack was gone.

* * *

"You-you suck" Jack heaved, trying to catch his breath.  
"I try" Pitch smiled, twirling his whip.

Jack knew Pitch was just playing with him. He figured Pitch's plan was to tire him out then attack while he was down.  
It was working.  
He was exhausted.  
And he knew for a fact that if Pitch wanted to hurt him, he would've done it by now.  
"You're just stalling" Jack accused  
"Why yes, I am" Pitch smiled.

He had no intentions of hurting the frost spirit, simply to talk some sense into him.

"For what? What do you want?" Jack asked, finally taking in a big enough breath to gain some coherent thought.  
"Simply to talk" Pitch answered.  
"Yeah, cause that went so well last time" Jack heaved as he gave his signature smirk.  
Pitch took Jacks pause as a time to wrap his sand around the spirits arms and stomach.

Seeing this as a threatening move, Jack started to struggle and freeze the sand.  
Pitch rolled his eyes.  
Predictable.

"Jack, I won't hurt you" Pitch promised, "I just want to talk"  
"Yeah? Well, I don't" Jack answered back, too focused on the sand wrapped around his middle to pay any attention to the dark spirit making his way closer.  
"Jack, I just want you to see it from my side" Pitch spoke.  
"I have, and I didn't like it" Jack answered, not looking up.

Pitch sighed.  
This non-violent approach wasn't going too well.

"What you saw was the jealous, revenge seeking Boogie Man." Pitch said, lessening the sand around Jacks arms.  
Jack finally looked up to see Pitch only a few feet away from him.  
"Jealous?" Jack asked.

"Not my proudest moments." Pitch gave a slight smirk, "You think it feels nice to know you had the ability to be believed in and was robbed of the opportunity?" Pitch asked.  
"You weren't going to be believed in, you were going to be feared." Jack responded, taking notice of the sand slithering away.  
"Which are one in the same" Pitch started, speaking again before Jack had a chance to interfere, "Think, Jack. To be afraid of something, you first have to believe the threat is there. If you fear something, you believe in it."

Jack paused. He had never thought of it like that.

"Fear can be just as essential as Hope or Wonder or Fun" Pitch continued, "Fear keeps us alive. Without fear, kids would be jumping off cliffs just for the fun of it. Fear drives scientists to create new vaccines and medicines, and it protects mortals from doing stupid things." Pitch paused, "Like not checking the ice before skating on it."

Jack's head shot up, escape completely forgotten.

"Fear of falling in makes sure kids will check before even thinking about stepping foot on it. The world needs fear, Jack. The Guardians defeated me when I was needed the most. The lack of fear got you in trouble Jack. It only made itself known when it was too late." Pitch smiled, knowing he had the frost spirits attention now. "Lack of fear almost got your sister killed." Pitch spoke, "Lack of fear got you killed, Jack"

"H-how do you know about that?" Jack's voice wavered. Nightmare sand completely gone, Jack made no move to run.  
"Because I was there. I was the fear you felt when that ice started cracking. I was her fear when you told her you were going to play a game." Pitch explained.  
Jack thought about this.

Of course he had been afraid, but it was the fear he felt that pushed him to do what he did. It wasn't fear of loosing his sister, it was fear of her never having the life she deserved. He had been using that fear to build up the courage to put himself in her place.

Jack suddenly understood.

"You are a Guardian" He whispered to himself.  
"What?" Pitch whispered back.

"You. You're a Guardian" Jack repeated, louder.  
Pitch faltered, "Do tell." Pitch spoke, "Explain how I am a Guardian when all the Man in the Moon has done is tell me the exact opposite." Pitch's voice steadily rose.  
"Courage." Jack answered.

"Courage? Oh, yes. That makes complete sense. Thank you ever so much" Pitch spat, contemplating whether to revoke his non-violent approach.  
Jack chose to ignore Pitch's anger in favor of explaining himself, "A kid needs courage to get over fear. You give them that fear." Jack started, "You give them fear that they have to learn how to overcome. In a weird way, you're the Guardian of Courage."

Pitch paused.  
That somehow made sense.

"Guardian of Courage" Pitch whispered to himself.

He turned around, hoping Jack hadn't seen the tears lining his eyes.  
He hadn't cried since he was mortal. Why was now any different?

Because he had meaning now. That's why it was different.  
For more than three centuries he had always known he wouldn't have any purpose other than being the scum of the Earth.  
The thing no one wanted.

When he had discovered this new spirit known as Jack Frost was experiencing the same thing, he had hoped he finally found someone who understood what it felt like. But he had been too late. Jack had already picked a side.  
But now, that same spirit was telling him he was important. That he had a reason to be alive. He had meaning.

This talk hadn't gone as planned. He had to leave. Now.

The second the sand found it's way back to it's owner, Pitch was gone.  
Disappearing into the shadows, leaving Jack alone in the woods to wonder what was going to happen next.

Never one to show his emotions so easily, Pitch was confused as to why he couldn't hold back this time. It wasn't sadness, he knew this. But it was something similar.  
Sadness mixed with another emotion.  
Sadness mixed with a happier emotion.

Sadness mixed with hope for the future.  
Sadness mixed with wonder for what would happen.  
Sadness mixed with memories from his past.  
Sadness mixed with dreams he had for the future.

Sadness mixed with joy.


	23. Reasons

**This one was requested by Macewood**

He knew something suspicious was going on. Once he paid closer attention to the details it was hard not to miss.  
The goofy grins shared between them. The consistent glances or the fact that they were together whenever they could be.

Yes, Jack had finally figured it out.  
Tooth and Bunny were dating.

The thought wasn't completely absurd and, in Jack's opinion, not completely unwanted like he thought it would be.  
Sure, it was weird considering they all 'worked' together but Jack thought it was weird in a sweet way.  
Tooth was always moving around and was extremely hyperactive.  
She needed something to occupy her otherwise fast-pace attention span every other minute.

And Bunny was the complete opposite.  
Being slow paced and known for taking his time with things, Bunny's peaceful manor needed to be balanced out just as much as Tooth's quick behavior did.  
This is why Jack had no problem with the idea of the bunny and the fairy being together.

He didn't know if North or Sandy knew about this new discovery, but he had every intention of finding out when this new relationship had started.  
It couldn't have been before they defeated Pitch, because Jack knew Tooth had still been trying to gain his attention during that time.

No. It had to have been after that.

Jack thought back to when they were all talking about their relationships.  
Both Tooth and Bunny had mentioned a friend but hadn't given any specifics. This was the missing piece of the puzzle. Maybe they had been talking about each other?  
That had to be it. Nothing else made sense.

Now all that was left to do was confront them about it.  
He didn't know why he felt the need to tell them he had figured it out, but the idea of seeing Bunny's face when he told them he had discovered their secret was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

Getting them alone wasn't as hard as he was planning it to be. They were sitting in the lounge section of North's workshop after the latest meeting. Bunny next to the fire, painting an egg, as he always seemed to be doing. And Tooth was in the air, spouting different coordinates to her minis Jack could only ever hope to be able to understand at lightning speed. It seemed normal enough that if he didn't already suspect something, he would just assume it was a normal day.

"So, what are you guys up to?" Jack spoke, breaking both Guardian's concentration.  
"Jack! When did you get here?" Tooth asked, smiling a bit brighter.  
"Just now. I was just wondering if you guys had any plans today. It's boring around here" It spooked Jack at how smoothly the lie came off his tongue. Especially when it was aimed at his friends.  
"Ah, no. You stay outta tha way until Easter" Bunny spoke up.

Jack rolled his eyes.  
It was three weeks until Easter and Bunny was on edge.  
Jack knew he told the others about what had happened last Easter when Pitch attempted to break and steal his staff. But even so, Bunny still didn't trust Jack enough to let him be goofing off so close to the holiday.

"I promise nothing will happen this year. You'll have the best Easter you've ever had," Jack swore, "I was just wondering if you guys had plans together"  
Bunny and Tooth looked at each other then Jack.  
"Why would we have plans together? Bunny still has to work and I've got my minis to help" Tooth answered.  
Jack shrugged, "I don't know. I just thought-"

"We were together?" Bunny interrupted, his paintbrush and half decorated egg down by his side.  
Jack stumbled.  
Dang that rabbit was fast.

"Nah, mate. Just good friends" Bunny smirked as Jack continued to attempt to speak.  
Tooth soon caught on and lightly giggled.  
"Why didn't you just ask if that's what you really wanted to know?" Tooth smiled.

By some miracle, Jack found his voice, but wasn't quick enough to come up with an answer.  
"Well, I-I didn't want to. I mean, it seemed like. Um" Jack trailed off.  
Bunny finally took pity on the winter spirit and filled the silence for him, "When you work with someone for centuries, you become pretty chummy with each other." Bunny explained.

"Oh" Jack sighed, feeling a little more than ashamed.  
"It's okay, sweet tooth. We get that it might have looked a little weird to see us so close all the time." Tooth responded.  
"But you guys-when we were talking about love you guys said there was a friend that you wouldn't mind being with" Jack defended himself.  
"Ya thought we were talking about each other?" Bunny asked.

Jack looked at his feet. He should've known, "Well, yeah," he paused, "I just thought that that was the reason you guys hung out all the time" he explained.  
Tooth and Bunny shared a look with each other before Tooth responded.  
"Jack, it's totally normal for people to be together and not be...together."

"I guess I just thought that you needed a reason to want to be around someone" Jack explained.  
Bunny shrugged, "I don't have a reason to be with you, but here we are"  
Jack chuckled slightly. Leave it to Bunny to make the first jab.  
"But you do have a reason. You had to make me the new Guardian" Jack continued.

He'd never admit it, but he was honestly just confused at this point. Without even realizing it, Jack's 300 year isolation had done more damage than anyone would've expected. Despite the Guardians best efforts, Jack's brain had hard-wired itself to believe that a person needed a reason to want to be around someone else. In his mind, the Guardians reason was that he was the newest addition to their group. They had to be around him whether they liked it or not.  
But Bunny and Tooth had been Guardians together for many decades. They didn't have a reason for being so close all the time.

Jack was brought out of his thought process by a hand on his shoulder.  
"Even if you hadn't been made a Guardian, we still would've wanted to be with you." Tooth's violet eyes stared back at him.  
"Well, yeah. I helped you defeat Pitch" Jack responded.  
"Blimey, mate! Look. We hang out around ya because we want to. Tooth and I hang out together because we're friends. It's that simple, nothing else." Bunny interrupted with a slightly raised voice.  
Jack nodded while glancing back down at the floor. Grinning at himself, Jack left Bunny and Tooth to return to their own devices.

You don't need a reason to want to be with someone. And they don't need a reason to want to hang out with you.  
Maybe he'd remember that this time.

Oh yeah, and Bunny and Tooth were _not_ dating.


	24. Gifts

**Katoptris12 gave the request for this one**

He swore he was being as cautious as possible. Making sure to stay out of sight and only follow when necessary. He hadn't made a sound or an indication that he was even there, yet, the kid was still able to find him.  
Why Jack hadn't said anything to the other Guardians was beyond him, but he was grateful nonetheless.

He, Pitch Black, had been watching Jack Frost from the shadows. And somehow, Jack had figured out he was there.

He didn't really have much of a plan. Just follow him around for a few days and see what he does.  
But Jack didn't know this plan of his. For all Jack knew, he could've been planning to murder him in his sleep. Which is why Pitch was so curious as to why Jack hadn't told the Guardians he was there.

Maybe it was because of their last encounter.  
Pitch had had the chance to attack the winter spirit and didn't. Maybe Jack wasn't afraid of him.  
Maybe Jack knew Pitch wouldn't hurt him.  
Maybe Jack knew that he had given Pitch a new perspective.

Pitch would not be attacking Jack anytime soon, and Jack knew this.

Which led to another question making itself present: What on Earth had possessed this child to leave food out for him?

Pitch had literally never seen anything like it in the hundreds of years he's been living.  
Sure, in the dark ages people would leave offerings out to try and ward off The Boogeyman. But this wasn't like that.  
Those people would leave out pig carcasses and hang masks on their doorways. Jack was leaving...cookies.

Pitch had to blink a couple times to make sure he was seeing right. Right there, in the corner where the two walls met, just out of sight was a small plate of three of Norths cookies hidden in the shadows.  
Pitch stared at it for longer than he needed to, still not believing what his eyes were telling him.

Pitch shook his head and faced the other way.  
It was probably left there by North and forgotten. Pitch wouldn't accept any other possibility.

Still, he smirked as he left the workshop.  
Clearly he needed to work on his stealth no matter if the cookies were for him or not.  
Having convinced himself not to look further into the sweet treats, Pitch ignored the sugary snack for two more days.  
But on that third day, the cookies were gone.

He knew it. They hadn't been for him.  
Despite the slight pang of disappointment in his chest, Pitch continued on. Waiting and watching for the reason he had been there in the first place.  
Enter Jack Frost.

Alone and without his staff, the old Pitch would've taken this perfect opportunity to strike. But that's not why he was here. He was here just to observe, take stock of what the enemy had in store.  
Well, that was the plan, until,  
"Pitch?"

He froze.  
Now he was certainly hearing things. Never mind the fact that Jack was carrying another small plate with three more cookies on it.  
"Pitch, I know you're there. Hiding just makes you look like an idiot" Jack smirked.

Brat.

Staying true to himself, Pitch continued to stay hidden in the shadows. Jack might know he was there, but he didn't know where.  
Currently, Jack was looking the in opposite direction.  
Jack huffed, "Well, fine. If you're going to be that way about it" Jack reached out and plucked one of the cookies from the plate and took a bite.  
Switching the cookie and plate in his hands, Jack placed the plate back in the same spot where Pitch found the first plate of cookies.

"They're not dangerous." Jack mocked before he left, taking another bite out of his cookie.  
Pitch watched as Jack left, then glanced back at the plate of baked goods.

One couldn't hurt.


	25. Claustrophobia

**This request comes from MollyDolly**

"I'm serious! This isn't funny!" Jack cried out, banging his fists on the door once more.  
"I don't know, mate. It's pretty funny from where I'm standing" Bunny responded.  
"Well, it's not very funny from where _I'm_ standing. Let me out!" Jack yelled, chest tightening.  
"Ya didn't say please" Bunny answered, unaware of the unseen danger in his seemingly harmless joke.

Jack swallowed his pride and took in a gulp of air before speaking again, this time with a hidden shakiness Bunny didn't hear  
"Bunny. Please let me out"  
"Nah, mate, I don't think I will" Was the response he was given.  
Jack looked up at the door, his face squeezing in fear and anger.

"I don't really feel like it." Bunny continued.  
"Wha-but you. I-What did I ever do to _you_?" Jack questioned, trying the locked door nob once more.  
"Nothing specifically this time. I just felt like it" Bunny shrugged.

"That's so not fair" Jack retorted.  
"Maybe not, but it's enough to be amusing for a few hours" Bunny spoke back.  
Jack faltered. A few _hours._ He could not be stuck in this tiny closet for hours. His mind started yelling at him to come up with every excuse in the book.

"I could suffocate in here."  
"You'd have ta be in there for days before ya even got close to suffocating. And I'm not that mean"  
"I'll starve"  
"A few hours won't hurt ya"  
"What if Pitch comes back?"  
"We haven't seen him since last year"

Now he was really starting to panic. "Bunny, if you let me out now I promise I won't freeze your Warren for an entire week" Jack bargained.  
"Yeah, like I'll believe that." Bunny scoffed, "It's just a closet, it's not like you'll die in there." Bunny rolled his eyes.  
Jack swallowed. Were the walls always this close?  
"It sure feels like it" He mumbled.  
Jack waited for Bunny to respond with sarcasm or a witty comment, but only received silence.

"Bunny?"  
Nothing. No response. Silence.  
Jack's breathing started getting faster as he realized he was now alone.  
His fists met the door again, and created a pattern of beats with frantic undertones.  
This had to be a nightmare. Jack looked around himself again.

His eyes wouldn't leave the walls.  
Logically, he knew it was impossible for them to be moving on their own, but the room was definitely getting smaller.  
His air was running out and it was impossible to take in a proper breath.  
His back hit the wall just as the four corners started moving in on him. he couldn't move his arms and his knees couldn't hold him up any longer.  
He slowly slid down the wall, feeling the bumpy surface scratch his back as his hoodie rode up his back.

He drew his legs in, feeling frost creep out from under him.  
An explosion of emotion hit him like a train.  
Anger. At Bunny for leaving him in here in the first place.  
But that feeling was overshadowed by the crushing fear of dying in this tiny closet.

He wouldn't let the tears fall, but he wouldn't argue with them as they sat on the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill.  
He could feel his body temperature drop. The frost around him snaked up the walls and bled out onto the floor, leaving angry angles in protest.  
Contrary to his usual, beautiful patterns that he loved to leave on windows and trees, this frost was fuming and tired.

Jack let his frost continue to seep out and under the door. He put his head down on his knees, covering his face with his arms as he silently tried to ride out the slight panic attack he could feel coming on.  
He knew Bunny didn't know about his most recent fear, but honestly, who locks another person in a closet just for the fun of it?  
Bunny apparently.

Unaware of the time that had past, Jack continued to will away his mini panic attack in favor for hyperventilating.  
Please let Bunny be on his way.  
As much as Jack wished the hours away, he knew he couldn't have been in this closet for more than a few minutes.  
Even so, he swore he could hear a clicking sound.  
God, that was annoying. Jack looked up to see what was making the sound and found North, Tooth and Sandy standing in front of him.

The door. It was open.

He could breath again.

Jack wanted to laugh. He told his body to laugh, but he was once again betrayed.  
The tears that had clung to his eyes for so long had finally had enough and fell onto his cheeks.  
"Oh, Sweet Tooth" Tooth cooed as she rushed down to comfort the youngest.  
She wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the frost that seeped into her feathers.  
North and Sandy followed suit and soon they were three Guardians protecting a lost spirit from an unseen fear.

"Jack, you must breath" North's voice broke the silence.  
But he was breathing. Wasn't he?  
Yeah, he was breathing.  
Quite fast, actually.

Along with coughing and hiccuping.  
He did his best to follow North's instructions and gulped in a long, steady breath.  
"Good. Keep it up" North encouraged as he stood up to look around himself.

The entire surface of the room was hiding behind frost. Jagged points made their mark on the walls and the ceiling.  
North shook his head in silence as he listened to Jack attempt to gain control of his breath.  
He stepped outside of the closet and crossed his arms.

Bunny looked terrible.

The four of them had been preparing for another meeting, and as usual, Jack was the last to show up.  
North had asked if any of the others had seen him recently, and that's when Bunny's eyes popped out of his head, his ears pressed down on his skull and he raced down the hall.  
The remaining three struggled to keep up as Bunny stopped in front of a small storage closet. The door, along with the surrounding floor and walls, was covered in a thin layer of ice.  
His shaking paws came up to unlock the door before slowly opening it.

He stepped aside, letting the others get to Jack first. He was positive Jack wouldn't want to see his face right now.  
Bunny listened with an aching heart as the other Guardians tried to calm Jack down.  
Bunny listened to Jack's labored breathing and quickly concluded that it was the product of claustrophobia.  
What a terrible friend he was.

Now, he was looking North in the eyes. Disgust and shame clear in Bunny's eyes while North's eyes held sadness and disappointment.  
They had all worked out what had happened.

"We will talk later" North said simply.  
Bunny nodded.  
He agreed, he knew he deserved any punishment headed his way.

"Did you know?" Tooth asked, appearing out of thin air. Her face was scrunched up, eyebrows knitted together and her fists clenching.  
"Know what?" Bunny asked wearily.  
"About him, Jack. Did you know?" Tooth rephrased.  
"'Course not! I never would've tried to pull this if I had known" Bunny defended.  
"You shouldn't have done it anyway!" Tooth yelled.  
"I know. I was just so tired of the bloke pullin' those pranks all tha time. I just wanted to get back at him" Bunny explained.

Tooth went silent as she processed this.  
"I understand this, Bunnymund. But you will still need to fix it" North spoke.  
"Of course" Bunny agreed.

The three stood in silence until they noticed that it was too silent.  
Immediately assuming something bad had happened, the three legends quickly poked their heads back into the small room.  
There, Sandy sat next to Jack, a small, singular stream of sand was traveling around the young spirits head. Sandy looked up and gave a sad smile.  
North took one look at Jacks tear stained face, void of any emotion, and made up his mind. "Your punishment is to take care of Jack"

Bunny looked up in surprise. He honestly thought his punishment would've been a lot harsher.  
"Mate, I don't think that's such a good idea" Bunny replied.  
"And why not?" North asked, looking down at the rabbit.  
"I don't think Jack's gonna want ta see me." Bunny voiced his concern.  
"You know what I think? I think you will be surprised" North smiled.

Bunny sighed.  
And that's how he found himself sitting in a slightly uncomfortable chair, next to a bed holding a sleeping winter spirit in the coldest room in the workshop.  
The pooka bit the inside of his cheek and looked around himself for a second.  
"Mate, I-I'm so sorry. If I had realized that you-I shouldn't have done that to ya" Bunny whispered.  
He brought a paw up to his cheek to rest his head on, the other holding a paintbrush he had been fiddling with. How could he have been so cruel?

He had hurt his friend.  
His family.  
His brother.

Bunny scoffed, "Look at me. ya got me goin' soft" He smirked at himself.  
Jack gave no response. Not that Bunny was expecting one.  
The dreamsand had left only a few minutes ago, so it was normal that the frost spirit was still asleep.  
And if Jack happened to wake up and hear Bunny monologuing, the pooka would just shake his head and deny it all.

"I don't know what else ta say." Bunny trailed off. Silence followed before Bunny heard a slight rustling sound.  
"Say 'I'm a dumb kangaroo who doesn't know how to take a hint'" A hoarse voice grumbled.  
Bunny's head shot up as he watched Jack slightly sit up, his back to the headboard.  
"Jack,yer-yer up" Bunny stumbled, not knowing whether to get the others or not.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up-I'm" Jack paused, bringing a hand up to his head, "I'm dizzy"  
"Dizzy?" Bunny frowned, thinking through the recent events, "Yeah, ya kinda hyperventilated back there" Bunny explained.  
"Oh yeah" Jack mumbled, bringing his hand back down to his lap.  
Bunny took in a small breath, "Do ya remember what happened?"

"I-uh, yeah." Jack answered, looking down at his hands.  
Bunny nodded. He knew it come to this eventually. "Look, mate. I-I'm so sorry." Bunny started, "I don't know what I was thinkin' ta convince myself that that was okay" Bunny continued, "I mean, if I had-I wouldn't, I-" Bunny stuttered.  
"Bunny!" Jack interrupted, slightly chuckling.

Bunny looked up from his lone paintbrush.  
"I forgive you" Jack said simply.  
Now that was unexpected. "Ya what?"  
"I forgive you" Jack repeated.

Bunny shook his head in shock. That's not how this was supposed to go. Jack was supposed to be angry with him. Yell and scream at him. Freeze him solid. Say that he never wanted to see him again.

Not completely forgive him right off the bat.

"Mate, I don't think ya remember quite right." Bunny responded, ignoring the confused look Jack gave him. "I locked you in a closet and left ya there. You should be fumin' at me" Bunny explained.  
"No, no. I remember that" Jack nodded, "I also remember having a panic attack and pounding on the door" Jack raised an eyebrow humorously.  
Bunny's ears flattened against his skull. Now Jack was just messing with him.

"But I also remember hearing the conversation you and North had" Jack continued, "I'm sorry for all the pranks I keep pulling. Sometimes I honestly don't know when I go too far." Jack shrugged.  
Bunny sighed, Jack shouldn't be the one apologizing. "No, mate. Don't do that. I'm tha one who should be sayin' sorry to you" Bunny insisted.  
Jack bit his lip as he looked around himself, "Then how about we just agree that we're both in the wrong and go get something to eat." Jack suggested.

Bunny gave a slight smirk as he stood up to help Jack stand, "I wouldn't mind that"


	26. Massage

"Lay still, will ya mate?" Bunny scolded for the third time. "It hurts" Jack complained once more, shifting again to try and find another comfortable position.  
"I know, but ya just gotta hang tight for a few more minutes" Bunny answered, continuing to knead his paws into the younger spirits back.

Jack had come into his warren to help with Easter preparations, along with Tooth and Sandy.  
North had said something about some trouble with the elves, so it was just the four of them. Once Bunny was confident they had made a good enough dent in the amount of work needed to be done, he had bid them goodbye and was ready to relax for a bit.

But before he could follow through, he had noticed Jack standing a bit stiffer than normal.  
Come to think of it, Jack had been a lot less chatty and jittery than usual while they painted.  
Bunny hadn't said anything at the time due to his concentration on the eggs, but now he felt obligated to speak up.

"Jack, stay here a second, will ya?" He called out.

"What's up?" Jack asked, turning around to take a couple steps towards the rabbit. "Are you feeling okay?" Bunny asked, getting straight to the point.  
Jack blinked before slowly answering, "Course" he shrugged stiffly.  
Bunny raised an eyebrow, "Cause ya didn't talk too much back there" he stated.  
"I'm just tired" Jack defended.

Bunny paused to think for a second, then smirked. "Raise ya arm" Bunny pointed with his nose.  
"Excuse me?" Jack faltered.  
"Lift ya arm. Above ya head" Bunny repeated.  
"Why?" Jack's eyebrows folded. Bunny rolled his eyes, "Just do it"

Jack gave a confused smirk as he slowly lifted his left arm at a 90 degree angle.  
"All tha way" Bunny scolded.  
Jack dropped his arm, failing to hide his wince, "What are you trying to do here? What's the point of this?" Jack's asked.  
"Yer really stiff" Bunny revealed. Jack paused, his eyes darting to the right then back to Bunny, "Well, yeah. I'm really tired." Jack answered again.

"Nah, mate. It's something else." Bunny argued.  
Jack gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, then I don't know what to tell you"

Jack spun around on his heels to head out into the tunnels back to the surface, but was stopped by a paw on his shoulder.  
"Crikey, mate. Ya wound up tighter than a clock" Bunny spoke up, feeling Jack tight shoulders.  
"It's fine. Just need some rest" Jack defended, tearing himself from Bunny's grasp.

"Ya need some damage control" Bunny responded back.  
Jack found it in him to chuckle as he looked down at his feet, preparing to make a run for it.  
Unfortunately, Bunny saw right through him. "Don't even think about it" Bunny spoke.  
Jack looked up, "Don't think about what?" Jack asked.  
"Takin' off" Bunny answered.

Jack stuttered, "I-I wasn't going to-"  
"Course you were." Bunny interrupted, grabbing Jacks hand in a firm grip, "Let's go"  
"Wha-go where?" Jack stumbled as he was pulled forward unexpectedly.  
"Ta sort ya out" Bunny answered.

One thing led to another, and soon enough, Jack found himself face down on a patch of grass trying not to punch the rabbit above him.  
"Ow. Bunny." Jack scolded.  
"Sorry, mate." Bunny paused, "How were ya flyin' around like this?" He questioned, finding another knot twisted into Jacks left shoulder.  
Jack did his best to shrug, "I don't know. I've kinda just been ignoring it" Jack answered.  
Bunny shook his head. He'd have to help Jack work on that, "That's real stupid. Ya know that, right?"

Jack sighed, "Yeah. I know."  
Silence followed as Bunny continued to work his paws into the pale skin under him.  
The pooka found himself becoming saddened at the sight of the frost spirits back.  
Painful looking knots tightened the muscles all around and as he worked his paws into them, he could feel Jack tense up underneath him.

Slowly but surly, Bunny could feel the tightness in the spirits back relax as the muscles finally let him work.  
Now, instead of working the knots out, Bunny started focusing on trying to make Jack feel better. Only Manny knows how long Jack had been flying around and working with this pain in his body.  
Only when Bunny felt as if Jacks pain was subdued enough to allow comfortable movement was when he spoke again.

He sighed as he drew his arms back to his side, "Alright. That's gotta feel better, right?" Bunny asked.  
He waited for a response, but only received a slow, tired hum.  
Bunny blinked as he shifted his body to face Jack, holding back a chuckle as he took note of Jacks content smile.

Deciding that the ground wasn't the best place to rest, Bunny set to work lifting the half-conscious Jack into his arms and looking around for a good place to set him. Finding a more elevated patch of grass with some softer dirt, Bunny placed the young spirit down and took in a breath.  
He smiled as he observed the sleeping spirits face.  
He could get used to peaceful moments like this.


End file.
